English
corny
Corny comes from Middle English corny ‘containing corn’, from corn ‘any plant that bears grain, especially wheat’, and ultimately from 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’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500corny‘containing corn’
- Englishearliest quotation 1718corny
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’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500corny‘containing corn’
- Englishearliest quotation 1718corny
Earliest quotation: 1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.: “The corny ear.”
Formed from corn ‘a type of cereal or grain’ + -y
Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm ‘grain’
Proto-Germanic *kurną ‘corn, grain, cereal’
Proto-West Germanic *korn ‘corn, grain, cereal’
Old English corn ‘corn, a grain or seed’
Middle English corn ‘any plant that bears grain, especially wheat’
English corn
The story
In the "hackneyed" sense, from "corn catalogue jokes", reputedly low-quality jokes that were formerly printed in mail-order seed catalogues.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- ‘to grow old, to 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’
Today it means
adj Boring and unoriginal.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm / corny