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corks

 [kawrk]   Origin

cork

   [kawrk]
noun
1.
the outer bark of an oak, Quercus suber, of Mediterranean countries, used for making stoppers for bottles, floats, etc.
2.
Also called cork oak. the tree itself.
3.
something made of cork.
4.
a piece of cork, rubber, or the like used as a stopper, as for a bottle.
5.
Angling. a small float to buoy up a fishing line or to indicate that a fish is biting.
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6.
Also called phellem, suber. Botany. an outer tissue of bark produced by and exterior to the phellogen.
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verb (used with object)
7.
to provide or fit with cork or a cork.
8.
to stop with or as if with a cork (often followed by up).
9.
to blacken with burnt cork.

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Corks is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
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Idiom
10.
blow/pop one's cork, Informal. to lose one's temper; release one's emotional or physical tension.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English cork(e) < Arabic qurq < Latin quercus oak

Related forms
re·cork, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged

Cork

   [kawrk]
noun
1.
a county in Munster province, in S Republic of Ireland. 266,019; 2881 sq. mi. (7460 sq. km).
2.
a seaport in and the county seat of Cork, in the S part. 136,344.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cork
c.1300, from Sp. alcorque "cork sole," prob. from Arabic al-qurq, ult. from L. quercus "oak" or cortex (gen. corticis) "bark." The place in Ireland is Anglicized from Ir. Corcaigh, from corcach "marsh," and is unrelated. The verb "to stop with a cork" is from 1650.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
cork   (kôrk)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. The outermost layer of tissue in woody plants that is resistant to the passage of water vapor and gases and that becomes the bark. Cork is secondary tissue, formed on the outside of the tissue layer known as cork cambium. The cell walls of cork cells contain suberin. Once they mature, cork cells die. Also called phellem.

  2. The lightweight, elastic outer bark of the cork oak, which grows near the Mediterranean Sea. Cork is used for bottle stoppers, insulation, and other products.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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