cornel

cor·nel
C3O1R1N1E1L1
UK/ˈkɔːnəl/

noun

Any tree or shrub of the dogwood subgenera, Cornus subg. Arctocrania (syn. Cornus subg. Chamaepericlymenum) or Cornus subg. Cornus, especially Cornus mas, the European cornel.

Similar
cornelian cherrycornel cherrydogwooddogwood tree
OriginMiddle English corneille ← Middle French corneille ← Vulgar Latin *cornicula →
UncommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

nouncornel (plural cornels)

plural cornels

  1. Any tree or shrub of the dogwood subgenera, Cornus subg. Arctocrania (syn. Cornus subg. Chamaepericlymenum) or Cornus subg. Cornus, especially Cornus mas, the European cornel.
  2. The cherry-like fruit of such plants, certain of which are edible.

    Cornels, and ſalvage Berries of the Wood, / And Roots and Herbs have been my meagre Food.

    1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 292, lines 855–856
    1 more example

    Meanwhile the goddess in disdain bestows / The mast and acorn, brutal food! and strows / The fruits and cornel, as their feast, around

    1726, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, The Odyssey

    Synonyms: cornelian cherry, cornel cherry

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe cherry-like fruit of such plants, certain of which are edible.

Similar
cornelian cherrycornel cherry

More synonyms by meaning

nouna tree of shrub of the genus Cornus often having showy bracts resembling flowers

Similar
dogwooddogwood tree
Broader
angiospermous treeflowering tree
Also see
dogwood

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latincornus“the European cornel”
  2. Vulgar Latin*cornicula
  3. Middle Frenchcorneille
  4. Middle Englishcorneille
  5. Englishcornel

From Middle English corneille, borrowed from Middle French corneille, from Vulgar Latin *cornicula, from Latin cornus (“the European cornel”).

More words from Middle English, Middle French, Vulgar Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek κράνεια, κράνειον
  • κράνεια (kráneia)tree
  • κράνειον (kráneion)fruit
Arabic قَرَانِيَا, قَرَانِيَا
  • قَرَانِيَا (qarāniyā)tree
  • قَرَانِيَا (qarāniyā)fruit
Basque zuhandor
  • zuhandortree
Bulgarian дрян, дренка
  • дрян (drjan)tree
  • дренка (drenka)fruit
Catalan corneller
  • cornellertree
Danish kornel
  • korneltree
Dutch kornoelje, kornoeljebes
  • kornoeljetree
  • kornoeljebesfruit
Finnish kanukka, kanukan marja
  • kanukkatree
  • kanukan marjafruit
  • kanukkafruit
French cornouiller, cornouille
  • cornouillertree
  • cornouillefruit
German Kornelkirschenbaum, Kornelkirsche
  • Kornelkirschenbaumtree
  • Kornelkirschefruit
Greek κρανιά, κράνο
  • κρανιά (kraniá)tree
  • κράνο (kráno)fruit
Hungarian som, som
  • somtree
  • somfruit
Irish conbhaiscne
  • conbhaiscnetree
Italian corniolo, corniola
  • corniolotree
  • corniolafruit
Latin cornus, cornum
  • cornustree
  • cornumfruit
Lithuanian sedula
  • sedulatree
Persian زغال اخته
  • زغال اخته (zoġâl axte)fruit
Polish dereń, dereń
  • dereńtree
  • dereńfruit
Portuguese corniso, corniso
  • cornisotree
  • cornisofruit
Romanian corn, coarnă
  • corntree
  • coarnăfruit
Russian кизи́л, кизи́л
  • кизи́л (kizíl)tree
  • кизи́л (kizíl)fruit
Spanish cornejo, corno
  • cornejotree
  • cornotree
  • cornofruit
Swedish kornell, kornell
  • kornelltree
  • kornellfruit
Turkish kızılcık ağacı
  • kızılcık ağacıtree

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

clonerLorenccronel
Cite this entry
APA

cornel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cornel

MLA

“cornel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cornel. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cornel,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cornel.

Source: cornel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.