English
corn
Corn comes from Middle English corn ‘any plant that bears grain, especially wheat’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵr̥h₂nóm‘grain’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kurną‘corn, grain, cereal’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*korn‘corn, grain, cereal’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150corn‘corn, a grain or seed’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500corn‘any plant that bears grain, especially wheat’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611corn
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵr̥h₂nóm‘grain’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kurną‘corn, grain, cereal’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*korn‘corn, grain, cereal’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150corn‘corn, a grain or seed’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500corn‘any plant that bears grain, especially wheat’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611corn
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And hee ſaid, Beholde, I haue heard that there…”
The story
The sense maize (Zea mays) is an ellipsis of Indian corn that developed in 18th century North America.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- ‘grow old, mature’
carl, karl, garnet, geriatrics, churlish, 13 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm ‘grain’
grain, granite, gram, grange, garner, granular, granary, grenadier, granule, 9 more
through Proto-Germanic *kurną ‘corn, grain, cereal’
through Middle English corn ‘any plant that bears grain, especially wheat’
Another origin of corn
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500corneuncertain
- Englishtodaycorn
English cornInherited from Middle English corne, from Old French corn (modern French cor), from Latin cornū.
Today it means
noun Any cereal plant (or its grain) that is the main crop or staple of a country or region.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm / corn