Acorn

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /ˈeɪkɔɹn/

Origin

Middle English acorne, an alteration (after corn) of earlier akern, from Old English æcern ("acorn, oak-mast"), from Proto-Germanic *akraną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ógeh₂- ("berry"). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Äkkene, Flemish aker, Danish agern; and with Irish áirne ("sloe"), Lithuanian úoga, Russian ягода (jágoda, "berry").

Full definition of acorn

Noun

1. The fruit of the oak, being an oval nut growing in a woody cup or cupule.
2. (nautical) A cone-shaped piece of wood on the point of the spindle above the vane, on the mast-head.
3. (zoology) See acorn-shell.
4. (slang, usually in plural) A testicle.

Derived terms

• acorn cup
• acorn nut
• acorn squash
• eggcorn
• ride a horse foaled by an acorn

Holonyms

• (fruit of an oak) oak

Anagrams

• caron, Coran, narco, racon