acorn
Use Acorn in a sentence
kɔrn, ˈeɪ noun
1.
the typically ovoid fruit or nut of an oak, enclosed at the base by a cupule.
2.
a finial or knop, as on a piece of furniture, in the form of an acorn.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English acorne (influenced by corn), replacing akern, Old English æcern, æcren mast, oak-mast; cognate with Old Norse akarn fruit of wild trees, Middle High German ackeran acorn, Gothic akran fruit, yield < Germanic *akrana-; alleged derivation from base of acre is dubious if original reference was to wild trees
before 1000; Middle English acorne (influenced by corn), replacing akern, Old English æcern, æcren mast, oak-mast; cognate with Old Norse akarn fruit of wild trees, Middle High German ackeran acorn, Gothic akran fruit, yield < Germanic *akrana-; alleged derivation from base of acre is dubious if original reference was to wild trees
Related forms
a·corned, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To acorn
00:10
Acorn
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
acorn (ˈeɪkɔːn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| the fruit of an oak tree, consisting of a smooth thick-walled nut in a woody scaly cuplike base | |
| [C16: a variant (through influence of corn) of Old English æcern the fruit of a tree, acorn; related to Gothic akran fruit, yield] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
acorn
O.E. æcern "nut," common Gmc. (cf. O.N. akarn, Du. aker, Low Ger. ecker "acorn," Goth. akran "fruit"), originally the mast of any forest tree, and ultimately related (via notion of "fruit of the open or unenclosed land") to O.E. æcer "open land," Goth. akrs "field," O.Fr. aigrun "fruits
and vegetables" (from a Gmc. source); see acre. The sense gradually restricted in Low Ger., Scand. and Eng. to the most important of the forest produce for feeding swine, the mast of the oak tree. Spelling changed by folk etymology association with oak (O.E. ac) and corn (1).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The engineering of the lightning rod and the acorn which holds it in place represents an astonishing achievement.
As the oak is germinant in the acorn, so society is germinant in the family.
Suitable densities of oak advance reproduction often occur one to two years following a good year of acorn production.
Common name from the acorn almost entirely enclosed in the spherical cup.
Nearby Words
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