kern

kern · noun¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromcurn
2. English todaykern

From Middle English curn, cooren, variant forms of Middle English corn, see English corn and also Dutch kern, Old High German kerno, cherno, Middle High German kerne, kern, German Kern (“core, kernel”), Old Norse kjarni, Icelandic kjarni, Danish kjerne, Swedish kärna (“core, kernel”); see also kernel.

kern · noun, verb²

1. French · derived fromcarne“corner; projecting angle; quill of a pen”
2. English todaykern

From French carne (“corner; projecting angle; quill of a pen”), from Latin cardinem (“hinge”) or from Etymology 1. The verb is a back-formation from kerned, which is from the noun. Doublet of cardo.

kern · noun³

1. Middle Irish · derived fromceithern
2. Middle English · inherited fromkerne
3. English todaykern

From Middle English kerne, from Middle Irish ceithern. Doublet of quaternion.

Kern · proper noun⁴

The unincorporated community in Missouri is named after Robert Kern. The Kern River is named after Edward Kern.

Words from the same roots