▪ I. corn, n.1
(kɔːn)
Also 3 coren, 4 korn(e, 4–7 corne, 5 (9 dial.) coorn; Sc. curn.
[Common Teut.: OE. corn corresponds to OFris. korn (E.Fris. kôrn, kôren), OS. corn (MDu. coorn, coren, Du. koren), OHG. chorn, choron (MHG. korn, koren, mod.G. korn), ON. (Sw., Da.) korn, Gothic kaurn n.:—OTeut. *korno- from earlier *kurnóm grain, corn = OSlav. zrŭnó (Boh. zrno, Russ. zernó) grain:—Aryan type *gṛnóm; in form, a passive pple. neuter from the vb. stem ger- (gor-, gṛ-), in Skr. jṛ to wear down, waste away, pa. pple. jīrṇá:—gṝnóm, whence also L. grānum. A corn or grain is therefore, etymologically, a ‘worn-down’ particle.
The ablaut grade (ger-) is represented in Ger. kern kernel, OHG. kerno, ON. kjarni:—OTeut. kérnon- masc. More directly related is kernel, OE. cyrnel:—OTeut. kurn-ilo-, dim. of kurnó-.]
I. gen. A grain, a seed.
1. a. gen. A small hard particle, a grain, as of sand or salt. In OE. and mod. dial. (In literary use in 16–17th c., chiefly transl. L. grānum.)
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. vii. §4 Swa fela welena swa þara sondcorna beoþ be þisum sæclifum. a 1000 Runic Poem 9 (Gr.) Hægl byþ hwitust corna. c 1000 Ags. Ps. cxxxviii. 16 [cxxxix. 18] Hi beoð ofer sand corn sniome maniᵹe. 1340 Ayenb. 233 Hit behoueþ þet þis flour habbe wyþinne þri cornes of gold..þe þri cornes of þe lilye. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 599 (Of poultry) Cornes [L. grana] that wol under growe her eye, That but thou lete hem oute, the sight wol die. 1520 Caxton's Chron. Eng. iv. 38/2 He offerred 3 cornes of incense [cf. L. grana thuris] to the sacryfyce of the ydoles. a 1571 Jewel On Thess. (1611) 132 We must vnderstand this authoritie with a corne of salt [L. cum grano salis] otherwise it may bee vnsauorie). 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 475 When you haue..bruised it, and brought it into small cornes. a 1656 Bp. Hall Occas. Medit. (1851) 11 He, that cannot make one spire of grass, or corn of sand, will yet be framing of worlds. 1698 J. Crull Muscovy 293 Having put a corn of Salt in the Child's Mouth. 1876 Mid-Yorksh. Gloss., Corn, a grain, or particle, a ‘corn of tobacco’, a ‘corn of powder’, a ‘corn of rice’. 1888 Elworthy West Somerset Word-bk., Corn, a particle of anything..as a corn of sugar-candy, black pepper, brimstone. |
† b. spec. One of the roundish particles into which gunpowder is formed by the corning or granulating process; a grain of corn-powder.
Obs. Cf. corn v. 1.
| 1595 Markham Sir R. Grinvile Argt., Sir Richard mayntained the fight, till he had not one corne of powder left. 1660 W. Secker Nonsuch Prof. 343 A Train of Powder..takes fire from corn to corn, till at last the Barrel is burst in sunder. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. 65 The harder the Corns of Powder are in feeling, by so much the better it is. 1736 Carte Ormonde I. 583 The soldiers..else would not have had a corn of powder..in case of an action. |
† c. Kind or size of ‘grain’.
Obs.| 1674–91 Ray N.C. Words 206 The Ale serves to harden the Corn of the Salt. 1679 Plot Staffordsh. (1686) 94 If they intend a large Corne [of salt] they put into it [the brine] about..a quart of the strongest and stalest Ale. |
2. spec. The small hard seed or fruit of a plant; now only with contextual specification or defining attribute, as in
barley-corn,
pepper-corn, etc.
a. A seed of one of the cereals, as of wheat, rye, barley, etc.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xii. 24 Hwætene corn [1382 Wyclif corn of whete; so 1611; 1881 grain of wheat] wunað ana buton hyt fealle on eorþan & sy dead. a 1175 Cotton Hom. 241 Þis bread was imaced of ane hwete corne. a 1225 Ancr. R. 260 Heo breken þe eares bi þe weie, & gniden þe cornes ut bitweonen hore honden. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 62 Þe weiȝte of þre cornys of wheete. 1496 Act 12 Hen. VII, c. 5 Every Sterling to be of the Weight of xxxij Corns of Wheat that grew in the Midst of the Ear. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §13 The cornes be very great and white, and it is the best barley. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 228 The ant..was occupied in gathering wheat cornes together. 1738 [G. Smith] Curious Relat. II. v. 63 Suppose that 1 Corn produces the first Year 50 Corns. c 1842 E. J. Lance Cottage Farmer 11 The ears had ninety corns each on an average. 1875 Ure Dict. Arts III. 185 (Malting) A sprouted corn or two. Ibid. Broken and bruised corns. |
b. The seed or fruit of various other plants, as of an apple, a grape, pepper, coffee, etc.
| a 700 Epinal Gloss. 790 Ptysones, berecorn berendæ. c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xv, Se æppel..moniᵹ corn oninnan him hæfð. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 74 Ȝenim..xvii pipor corn gnid to somne. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xiii. 31 The kyngdam of heuenes is like to a corn of seneuey. 1486 Bk. St. Albans C v a, Take..the cornes of sporge and grinde it weell. 1561 Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 24 a, Juniper whereon are manye berryes or cornes. 1586 Cogan Haven Health cxxii. (1636) 123 A few cornes of blacke pepper. 1747 Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) 103 Swallow five or six corns of White Pepper. 1876 Sir S. D. Scott To Jamaica 104 Each [coffee] berry contains two corns.. The corns slide through into other troughs of water. |
II. spec. The fruit of the cereals.
3. a. collective sing. The seed of the cereal or farinaceous plants as a produce of agriculture; grain.
As a general term the word includes all the cereals, wheat, rye, barley, oats, maize, rice, etc., and, with qualification (as
black corn,
pulse corn), is extended to leguminous plants, as pease, beans, etc., cultivated for food. Locally, the word, when not otherwise qualified, is often understood to denote that kind of cereal which is the leading crop of the district; hence in the greater part of England ‘corn’ is
= wheat, in North Britain and Ireland
= oats; in the
U.S. the word, as short for
Indian corn, is restricted to
maize (see 5).
| 871–89 Charter ælfred in O.E. Texts 452 He ᵹeselle of ðem londe xxx.{ddd}cornes eᵹhwelce ᵹere to hrofescestre. 898 O.E. Chron. an. 895 Hie wæron be numene æᵹðer ᵹe þæs ceapes ᵹe þæs cornes. 1044 Ibid. (MS. C), On ðisum ᵹere wæs..corn swa dyre swa nan man ær ne ᵹemunde. a 1225 Ancr. R. 234 Satan is ȝeorne abuten uorto ridlen þe ut of mine corne! c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2159 Iacob for-ðan Sente in to egipt to bringen coren. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. lxv. (Tollem. MS.), Sum corne þryueþ in on grounde, and fayleþ in a noþere. 1558 Warde tr. Alexis' Secr. (1568) 24 b, All sortes of pulse corne, as Pease, Beanes, Tares, and Fitches. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 533 Grounds that are to be sowne with corne, that is to say, with Rie corne, Maslin, some kind of Barly, Turkie corne, and such others, whereof bread is made, and especially..Wheat corne. 1767 Byron's Voy. round World 143 Rice is the only corn that grows in the island. 1774 Percival Ess. (1776) III. 62 Wheat..so lately has it been cultivated in Lancashire, that it has scarcely yet acquired the name of corn, which in general is applied only to barley, oats, and rye. 1825–79 Jamieson Sc. Dict., Corn, the name commonly given to oats, before they are ground. 1859 Tennyson Geraint & Enid. 263 An ancient churl..Went sweating underneath a sack of corn. 1876 F. K. Robinson Whitby Gloss., Black coorn, beans; dark pulse. 1880 Antrim & Down Gloss., Corn, oats. 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., Corn, wheat. |
† b. pl. Kinds of corn; also corn-stuffs.
Obs.| 1544 T. Phaer Regim. Lyfe (1560) L viij, Wheate is best among al other cornes even as wyne among all other licours. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. Treatise 140, Cornes, sic as pease, beanes, sould be sawin zearlie. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vii. (1682) 317 Malta..a barren place..for their Corns and Wines come daily by Barks from Sicilia. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Load-Star Wks. (1711) 184 For the provision of the army in corns, fewel, viands. 1745 tr. Columella's Husb. i. vi, Corns [frumenta] may also be kept in pits. |
c. colloq. (
orig. U.S.). Something ‘corny’ (see
corny a.
1 1 c);
spec. old-fashioned or inferior music. Also
attrib.| 1936 Variety 24 June 63/1 The B.B.C. doesn't understand..that the great English public loves corn, loves a waltz. 1937 [see corn-fed a. c]. 1946 M. Sandoz in Amer. Speech XXI. 234/1 The seed catalog [from c 1890 to 1910]..featured a great variety of seed corn..interspersed with short jokes and riddles, sometimes even cartoons. The jokes were all time-worn and over-obvious and were called corn catalog jokes or corn jokes, and any quip or joke of that nature was called corny. 1952 Economist 9 Feb. 339/2 Governor Stevenson..declines to indulge in the political ‘corn’ which is supposed to get votes. 1955 Keepnews & Grauer Pict. Hist. Jazz xviii. 233 Other jazz bands, dance bands, corn bands. 1956 Times 6 Aug. 8/6, I know now that ‘O by jingo, O by gosh, by gee!’ was not jazz, but the merest corn. 1958 Spectator 18 July 115/2 Specialising in exposures, murder, and ‘corn’. 1968 H. McCloy Mr. Splitfoot (1969) xvii. 192, I don't believe that what I feel now is inverted corn. It's purely selfish. |
4. a. Applied collectively to the cereal plants while growing, or, while still containing the grain.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. lii, Ðone æcer..ðe stent on clænum lande, & bið unwæsðmbære oððe unȝefynde corn bringð oððe deaf. a 1123 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1103 æᵹðer ᵹe on corne and eac on eallon treow wæstman. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 107 Þe blostme þe cumeð of coren of eorðe and of treuwe. c 1340 Cursor M. 4702 (Fairf.) Na corne ne grisse on erþe sprange. 1499 Pynson Promp. Parv., Corne that is grene, bladum. 1535 Coverdale Judg. xv. 5 Samson..brent y⊇ stoukes and the stondinge corne. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. v. 32 Her Foes shake like a Field of beaten Corne. 1795 Southey Joan of Arc ix. 368 As o'er the fertile field Billows the ripen'd corn. 1841–4 Emerson Ess., Self-Reliance Wks. (Bohn) I. 29 Sweet as the murmur of the brook and the rustle of the corn. 1861 Times 4 Oct. 7/4 The corn is all cut, with the exception of a few late pieces. |
† b. pl. Corn crops, cereals.
Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 6840 (Cott.) Your land yee sal sau seuen yeir, And scer þar-of your corns seir. a 1340 Hampole Psalter lxxvii. 51 Locustis ere bestis þat fleghis and etis kornes. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxiv. 255 There ben grete Pastures, but few Coornes [Fr. poy des blez]. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccclxxxi. 640 To gather and bring home theyr cornes, and some to threshe and to fanne. 1544 T. Phaer Regim. Lyfe (1560) R v, Wilde cicorie, growing in the cornes. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj., Stat. Robt. I, 35 Gif..the cornes in the fieldis happens to be brunt and consumed. 1745 tr. Columella's Husb. xi. ii, During these days the corns must be weeded. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 299 The practice of weeding their corns is not so carefully observed among the moderns. |
† c. A plant of one of the cereals; a corn-plant, corn-stalk.
Obs. rare.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame iii. 134 And many flowte and liltyng horne And pipes made of grene corne. 1590 T. Watson Eclog. Walsingham (Arb.) 163 Now in the fields each corne hang down his head. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 67 Playing on pipes of Corne. |
5. a. orig. U.S. Maize or Indian corn,
Zea Mays; applied both to the separated seeds, and to the growing or reaped crop.
corn on the cob: green maize suitable for boiling or roasting; maize cooked and eaten on the cob.
Wheat, rye, barley, oats, etc. are in
U.S. called collectively
grain. Corn- in combinations, in American usage, must therefore be understood to mean
maize, whereas in English usage it may mean any cereal;
e.g. a
cornfield in England is a field of any cereal that is grown in the country, in
U.S. one of maize.
| [1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. iii. 40 A Fleet of Pereagoes laden with Indian Corn, Hog, and Fowls, going to Cartagene..Here..we stock'd our selves with Corn, and then went.] 1726 W. R. Chetwood Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 359 How happy he [an Indian] should be in the Company of their God, where would be no want of Corn, or Wood, or any Thing. 1809 Kendall Trav. I. xxvi. 247 The planting or sowing of maize, exclusively called corn, was just accomplished. 1837 H. Martineau Soc. Amer. II. 43 Everything eats corn, from slave to chick. 1867 T. F. De Voe Market Assistant 414 What usually makes a bushel: Sixty pounds of wheat, Irish Potatoes, Beans, or clover-seed;..seventy pounds of corn on the cob. 1891 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 27 Nov. 6/1 The corner in November corn is still on. 1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 374/2 A form of dressing served with..corn on the cob. |
b. ellipt. Corn-whiskey.
U.S.| 1820 Chillicothe (Ohio) Supporter 5 July, If we go to town,..we are invited to try a little corn as usual. 1846 J. J. Hooper Adv. Simon Suggs (1851) v. 54 Let me git one o' these book-larnt fellers over a bottle of ‘old corn’. 1936 Times Lit. Suppl. 12 Dec. 1033/1 Jessamyne is a shrewish bustling woman, a notable maker and peddler of ‘corn’ i.e., home-distilled spirits. |
6. With defining attribute as
amelcorn,
bread-corn, broom-corn,
Indian corn,
pop-corn,
seed-corn, turkey-corn, etc.,
q.v. III. 7. Phrases.
† new ale in corns: ? ale as drawn off the malt:
cf. corny 2.
corn in Egypt: said of a plentiful supply of anything to be had in the proper quarter: in allusion to
Gen. xlii. 2.
to measure another's corn by one's own bushel: see
bushel n.1 2 c.
to acknowledge (admit, confess) the corn: to confess or acknowledge a charge, imputation, failure, etc. (
orig. U.S.). And other proverbial expressions.
| a 1529 Skelton El. Rummyng 378 And blessed her wyth a cup Of new ale in cornes. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 491/2 Then would those heretikes by their willes, that in stede of wyne and water, men woulde consecrate new ale in cornes. 1539 Taverner Erasm. Prov. (1552) 60 The corne in an other mans grounde semeth euer more fertyle and plentyfull than doth oure owne. 1552 Huloet, Ale newe, or new ale in the cornes, mustum. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 30 All this winde shakis no corne. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. iv. vii. 348 Mankind is negligent in improving his Observation, he never rubs the Corn out of the Ear. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, A great Harvest of a little Corn, a great adoe in a little Matter. a 1834 Lamb Let. in Ainger Life vii, There is corn in Egypt while there is cash at Leadenhall. 1837 Goring & Pritchard Microgr. 65 He must not measure his neighbour's corn by his own bushel. 1839 New Orleans Picayune 15 Apr. 2/1 We were certain it was not Dutch, and was in error in saying it was Scotch, and ‘acknowledge the corn’. 1842 Spirit of Times (Philad.) 16 Mar. (Th.), Your honor, I confesses the corn. I was royally drunk. 1846 New York Herald 27 June (Bartlett), The Evening Mirror very naively comes out and acknowledges the corn. 1854 B. P. Shillaber Mrs. Partington 152 The old Sherry admitted the corn, turned over and slept on it. 1883 Sala Living London 97 (Farmer) Mr. Porter acknowledges the corn as regards his fourteen days' imprisonment, and is forgiven by his loving consort. 1902 Harben Abner Daniel 136 When anybody teaches me any tricks, I acknowledge the corn an' take off my hat. 1948 C. E. Funk Hog on Ice 38 To acknowledge the corn..means to admit the losing of an argument, especially in regard to a detail; to retract; to admit defeat. |
IV. attrib. and
Comb. (Almost exclusively in senses 3–5.)
8. attrib. a. Of or pertaining to corn or grain, or, in
U.S., to maize.
| c 1420 in Rel. Ant. I. 233 In a good corne contrey rest the. 1611 Bible Gen. xliv. 2 Put my cup..in the sackes mouth of the yongest, and his corne money. 1798 W. Lorimer (title) A Letter to the Corn Committee, on the Importation of Rough Rice, as a Supplement of Wheat Flour. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 302 The Corn tribe..such as Wheat, Barley, Oats, Maize, Rice, and Guinea Corn. 1832–52 M{supc}Culloch Dict. Comm. 416 Until the season was too far advanced for bringing supplies from the great corn markets in the north of Europe. 1842 Act 5–6 Vict. 2 Sess. c. 14 Any Corn Returns believed fraudulent may be omitted in the Computation. Mod. Market Report, Corn Averages. |
b. Consisting of grains; granulated.
| 1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 101 Corn Emery used for sharpening cutting burnishers. |
9. General combinations:
a. attributive, as
corn-bread,
corn-colour,
corn-crop,
corn-dole,
corn-ear,
corn-fair,
corn-feast,
corn-goddess,
corn-harvest,
corn-head,
corn-heap,
corn-leaf,
corn-market,
corn-mart,
corn-merchant,
corn-plant,
corn-produce,
corn-riddle,
corn-row,
corn-shock,
corn-song,
corn-stack,
corn-stubble,
corn-top,
corn-trade, etc.; (used in the cultivation, carriage, storage, etc., of corn), as
corn-barn,
corn-basket,
corn-bin,
corn-bing,
corn-chamber,
corn-city,
corn-fan,
corn-loft,
corn-sampler,
corn-ship,
corn-shovel,
corn-sieve,
corn-van,
corn-wain,
corn-yard.
b. obj. genitive (sometimes as names of mechanical contrivances), as
corn-cadger,
corn-cleaner,
corn-crusher,
corn-cultivator,
corn-gauger,
corn-harvester, etc.
c. objective, as
corn-cumbering,
corn-devouring,
corn-exporting,
corn-growing,
corn-planting,
corn-producing, etc.,
vbl. ns., and
adjs.;
d. instrumental, as
corn-clad,
corn-feeding,
corn-laden,
corn-strewed,
corn-wreathed, etc.,
ppl. adjs.;
corn-fit adj.;
e. parasynthetic, as
corn-coloured adj.| 1780 E. Parkman Diary 16 Oct. (1899) 278 Dr. Hawes..took the whole care of husking the Corn, & carrying it into the *Corn Barn. 1864 T. L. Nichols Amer. Life I. 22 At a little distance was..a corn-barn for storing Indian corn. |
| 1648 Connecticut Public Records I. 487, 1 spade..a *corne baskitt. 1809 ‘D. Knickerbocker’ Hist. N.Y. iii. iv, The contents filled a couple of corn-baskets. 1871 Mrs. Stowe Oldtown Fireside Stories 66 Hand me that corn-basket; we'll put that over him. |
| 1859 R. F. Burton Centr. Afr. in Jrnl. Geog. Soc. XXIX. 161 A mortar for grain, and sundry gourds and bark *corn-bins. |
| 1745 tr. Columella's Husb. i. vi, The granaries are also distinguished with partitions or *corn-bings. |
| 1769 De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. II. 150 The *Corn-chambers and Magazines in Holland. 1869 Blackmore Lorna D. iii. (ed. 12) 11 The rats were bad in the corn-chamber. |
| 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. viii. 4 The *cornecyties [1611 store cities] which he buylded in Hemath. |
| 1808 J. Barlow Columb. ii. 18 And *corn-clad vales a happier state attest. |
| 1873 J. H. Beadle Undevel. West xix. 357 Rich dresses were numerous at church, particularly of *corn-color silk. 1891 Daily News 1 Oct. 3/1 Corn colour is popular for ball gowns. |
| 1854 M. J. Holmes Tempest & Sunshine vii. 103 If I catch you here again dickerin' after Fanny, I'll pull every *corn-colored har out of your head. 1887 Daily News 20 July 6/2 A girl in corn-coloured surah, relieved with shoulder-knots and belt of wheat-green velvet. |
| 1834 Brit. Husb. I. 260 When applied to *corn-crops, it should be..already decomposed. |
| 1865 Lubbock Preh. Times 133 The presence of *corn-crushers, which are round balls of hard stone, two or three inches in diameter, proves that agriculture was known and practised even in the Stone age. |
| 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. iii. Wks. (Grosart) I. 115 Cockle, wilde Oats, rough Burs, *Corn-cumbring Tares. |
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 270 The *Corn-devouring Weezel here abides. |
| 1553 N. Grimalde Cicero's Offices ii. (1558) 105 Caius Gracchus *cornedole was gret, he wasted therefore the treasurie. |
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 305 (Mätzn.) Þe sweuene of þe seuene *corneres. 1425 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 664/19 Hec spica, a cornehere. |
| 1888 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 24 Nov. 4/4 Portsmouth, Ohio, is to have a *corn fair. |
| 1675 Hobbes Odyssey (1677) 287 Bearing upon his shoulder a *corn-fan. |
| 1824 J. D. Hunter Mem. Captivity 274 No occasion..displays in a more manifest degree its social effects than the *corn feast. |
| 1846 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 443 Though the population in *corn-feeding countries were dependent on the cheapest species of grain. |
| 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. iv, The *Corn-fit soyl. |
| 1890 J. G. Frazer Gold. Bough I. iii. 330 note, Demeter as a *corn-goddess. |
| 1823 Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) I. 265 To send their *corn-gaugers over the country regularly year after year. |
| 1670 Cotton Espernon iii. x. 479 Their *Corn Harvest had prov'd this year so thin, that thereupon a great..Famine ensu'd. 1709 Act 7 Anne in Lond. Gaz. No. 4512/11 All Persons working at Hay-Harvest and Corn-Harvest work..shall not be Impressed. |
| 1891 Pall Mall G. 22 Aug. 2/3 This..offence of plucking a few *cornheads. |
| 1620 Bp. Hall Hon. Mar. Clergy 195 (T.) What if in his chaff he find but one untruth, whiles I in my *corn-heap can find more? |
| 1881 Chicago Times 14 May, She [i.e. the vessel] is *corn-laden for Buffalo. |
| 1856 Olmsted Slave States 414 Some bundles of *corn-leaves, to be fed to the horse. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Grenier, a Garner; a *Corne-loft; a roome to keepe salt, or corne, in. |
| 1547 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 77 Unius burgagii in Rypon in le olde *Corne markettstede. 1837 Whittock Bk. Trades 164 The Factor introduces samples of the corn upon his stand or counter in the corn market. |
| 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. II. xxxiii. 6 A Village where a *Corn Mart is kept once or twice in a Week. |
| 1832 Veg. Subst. Food 10 The chief *corn-plants..are wheat, rye, barley, oats, millet, rice, and maize. |
| 1809 E. A. Kendall Trav. Northern U.S. II. 13 Thinking to ask some usual question,..as to whether the family had done their *corn planting [etc.]. 1849 J. Pritts Mirr. Border Life 460, I remained in that situation till corn planting time. |
| 1849 Grote Greece ii. xlii. V. 268 The importance of its *corn-produce. |
| c 1878 Oxford Bible Helps 210 Egypt was a great *corn-producing country in Jacob's time. |
| 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schm. viii. (1860) 80/1 Two tall pyramids of braxy-mutton, heaped up each on a *corn-riddle. |
| 1898 Westm. Gaz. 29 Dec. 5/2 A *corn-sampler,..living in Bermondsey. |
| c 1878 Oxford Bible Helps 142 Alexandrian *corn-ships carried one large square-sail. |
| 1583 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 53 *Corneshocks sindged with blasterus hurling Of Southwynd whizeling. 1857 Trans. Ill. Agric. Soc. II. 665 During winter they may be tracked..to the neighboring corn-shocks, which they have visited for food. 1969 E. H. Pinto Treen 97/2 In New England, where the term ‘shock’ is more usual than ‘stock’, the device was known as a corn shock binder. |
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789) K iv b, Paddles..are pieces of..wood..resembling a *corn-shovel. |
| 1890 J. G. Frazer Gold. Bough I. iii. 306 Isis placed the severed limbs of Osiris on a *corn-sieve. |
| 1844–5 Schoolcraft Oneota 254 The cereal chorus, or *corn-song, as sung by the Northern Algonquin tribes. |
| a 1631 Drayton Wks. III. 932 (Jod.) On the *cornstrew'd lands. |
| 1842 J. Bischoff Woollen Manuf. (1862) II. 212 The weeds and thistles which are in *corn stubbles. |
| 1733 J. Hempstead Diary (1901) 265 Stacked our *Corn Tops & Husks. 1814 J. Taylor Arator (ed. 2) 93 Some loss will accrue from the evaporation of a cover, whether composed of straw or corn tops. 1902 W. S. Gordon Recoll. Old Quarter 121 How the rustic hymns would be drawled out in the long summer days, to float away over the corntops. |
| 1753 (title) The State of the *Corn Trade considered. |
| a 1455 Houlate xv, Cryand crawis..Will cum to the *corne ȝard. |
10. corn is also prefixed to the names of many plants to distinguish a species that grows in corn-fields, as
corn bell-flower,
blue-bottle,
bugloss,
campion,
crowfoot,
mustard,
poppy,
speedwell,
thistle,
woundwort, etc.; also to names of animals living in corn-fields or infesting corn, as
corn bunting,
sawfly,
weevil, etc. See these words.
11. Special Combinations:
† corn-badger, a dealer in corn (see
badger n.1);
corn-ball, (
a) (
U.S.), a sweetmeat made of popped corn or maize; (
b)
slang (
orig. U.S.), a ‘corny’ person (see
corny a.
1); also
attrib. or as adj.;
corn-beef, corned beef (see
corned ppl. a.);
corn-beetle, a very small beetle,
Cucujus testaceus, the larva of which often makes great ravages in stores of grain;
corn-bells, (
a) a species of fungus,
Cyathus vernicosus or
Nidularia campanulata, found in England in corn-fields, etc.; (
b)
dial. name for ears of corn (see
quot.);
corn belt, the area in which corn is grown;
corn-bill, a parliamentary draft of a proposed corn-law;
corn-bind, (
a) the wild English convolvulus; (
b) running buckwheat,
bindcorn,
Polygonum Convolvulus; also called
corn-bindweed;
corn-binks (
dial.), the blue-bottle,
Centaurea Cyanus;
corn-blade (
U.S.), the broad leaf of Indian corn;
corn-boggart (
dial.), a figure set up to scare away birds, etc., from growing corn;
corn-boor, in South Africa, a boor who chiefly grows corn (
Ger. korn-bauer);
corn-bottle (
dial.), the blue-bottle;
corn-brake (
U.S.), a plantation of maize;
corn-broom, a broom made of the panicles of broom-corn or of the tops and dried seed-stalks of the maize-plant;
corn-cale, Charlock or Field Mustard,
Sinapis arvensis;
corn-cart, a farm-cart adapted to the carriage of corn, etc.;
† corn-dish, a dish for measuring corn;
corn-drake (
dial.)
= corn-crake (Montagu 1802–33);
corn-drill, a machine or drill for sowing grain in rows or, in
U.S., Indian corn;
corn-ear worm orig. U.S., a larva (
Heliothis armigera or zea) that feeds on corn and other plants;
Corn-Exchange, an Exchange devoted to the corn-trade;
cornflakes n. pl. orig. U.S., a kind of breakfast cereal made from flaked and flavoured maize;
† corn-floor, a threshing floor;
corn-fly, a name given to flies of the genera
Chloris and
Oscinis on account of the injury done by them to growing crops;
corn-fodder (
U.S.), Indian corn sown broad-cast and cut to serve as fodder; (see also
quot. 1744);
corn-fritter (
U.S.), a fritter made of batter mixed with grated green Indian corn;
corn-grass, an old name of
Agrostis Spicaventi;
corn-grate,
corn-grit (
dial.)
= corn-brash;
corn-grater (
U.S.), an appliance for detaching green Indian corn from the cob;
corn-grinder, (
a)
U.S. = metate; (
b)
= corn-mill; (
c) one who grinds corn; so
corn-grinding vbl. n.;
corn-hill, in N. America, a small hillock raised by the Indians for the planting of maize;
† corn-honey, honey which has become granulated;
corn-hook (
U.S.), an instrument with a short scythe-like blade, for reaping Indian corn;
† corn-hoop, a measure for corn;
corn-huller, a machine for hulling corn;
corn-jobber, a dealer in corn;
corn-juice (
U.S. slang), whisky made of Indian corn, hence whisky generally;
corn-king,
cf. corn-spirit;
corn-kist Sc. and
north. dial., a corn-bin;
corn-kister Sc., ‘a rollicking song sung at gatherings of farm-workers’ (
Sc. Nat. Dict.);
corn-knife (
U.S.), a large strong knife for cutting standing Indian corn;
corn-lift, a mechanical contrivance in a mill or warehouse for raising sacks of corn;
corn-man, a labourer employed in the reaping or carrying of corn;
† corn-meter, one who superintends the measuring of corn sold or distributed;
corn-mildew, a mildew that attacks growing corn;
corn-mint, (
a) a name, in Turner, of a species of Calamint,
C. Acinos, Wild Basil (
cf. Ger. kornminze,
Du. corneminte); (
b) book-name of the Field-mint,
Mentha arvensis;
corn-month, the month for harvesting the corn crops;
corn-moth, a species of moth,
Tinea granella, the larva of which, called the ‘wolf’, is very destructive to corn;
corn-mother,
corn-queen:
cf. corn-spirit;
corn-mow (
dial.), a stack of corn or a place where corn is stacked;
corn-mush U.S. (see
mush n.1 1);
corn-oyster (
U.S.), a corn-fritter with a taste resembling that of oysters;
corn-pike,
† (
a) a pitch-fork; (
b) a circular rick of corn, pointed at the top (
dial.);
corn-pit (
U.S.), the part of an Exchange where the business in Indian corn is carried on;
corn-popper (
U.S.), a wire pan or covered tray used in popping Indian corn;
corn-popping (
U.S.), the making of popped Indian corn by roasting it till it splits and the white flour swells out; a social gathering at which this is done;
corn-queen (see
corn-mother);
corn-rail = corn-crake;
† corn-rate = corn-rent;
corn-rig (
dial.), a ‘ridge’ of growing corn, the strip between two furrows in a cornfield;
corn-roast N. Amer., a party at which green maize is roasted and eaten;
corn-rust, a parasitic fungus infesting growing corn;
† corn-sedge = corn-flag;
corn-sheller (
U.S.), a machine for removing the grains from the ear or cob of Indian corn; so
corn-shelling vbl. n., the process of detaching the grains of maize from the cob; also
attrib.;
corn-silk U.S., the styles of maize;
corn-silker, a machine for removing the corn-silk;
corn-smut, a disease in growing corn, produced by a fungus which turns the grains into a black soot-like powder;
corn-spirit (in writers on folk-lore), a spirit or animated being (taking various forms), supposed by some races to dwell in corn;
corn-spurrey, a small weed,
Spergula arvensis, bearing white flowers and whorled leaves;
corn-starch (
U.S.), (
a) a starch made of Indian corn; (
b) a fine flour made of Indian corn and used in puddings, custards, etc.;
corn-stook (
north. dial.), a shock of corn;
corn syrup U.S., a thick syrup made
usu. from corn-starch;
corn-thrips, a small insect,
Thrips cerealium, which deposits its eggs on wheat, oats, grasses, etc.;
corn-tongs (see
quot.);
† corn-van, a ‘van’ or fan formerly used in winnowing corn;
† corn-violet, a name of
Campanula Speculum;
corn-weevil, one of several popular names for weevils attacking corn;
corn-whiskey U.S., a spirit distilled from maize. Also
corn-baby, -brandy, etc.
| 1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase ix. 64 Nanny remained near the dutch oven to keep us supplied with red-hot pones or *corn-balls. 1873 E. Phelps Trotty's Wedding Tour 3 They were eating a corn ball at recess. 1952 R. C. Ruark in Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang (1960) 124/2 Eisenhower on no account can be called a cornball. 1952 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. (1958) xxv. 350 Corny, stale, insipid..and so too ‘corn’ (noun), ‘cornfed’, ‘cornball’, and ‘off the cob’. 1962 Movie June 28/1 An expatriate cornball like Jerry Court. 1962 Melody Maker 7 July 11 Parker hired a cornball duo at one of the Sunday Reisner-Parker sessions in order to get rid of the audience. 1970 Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 1 May 19 Things today have to be carefully said, because we live in that kind of world where the truisms sound cornball. |
| 1666 Merrett Pinax Rev. Natur. Brit. (Britten), Call'd in Wostershire *Cornbells, where it grows plentifully. 1865 Cornh. Mag. July 39 Corn-ears in Northamptonshire are corn-bells. |
| 1882 Nation (N.Y.) 13 July 24/3 Crop reports from the West still continue favorable, though there are some discouraging accounts of the prospects in the ‘*corn belt’. 1959 J. Thurber Years with Ross ii. 32 Ben Hecht..was a police reporter at heart, Elmer Davis a corn-belt intellectual. |
| 1768 Foote Devil on 2 Sticks i. (1794) 5 In the debate on the *corn-bill. 1822 Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) I. 77 That distress which led to the present Corn Bill. |
| 1788 W. Marshall E. Yorkshire Gloss., *Cornbind, climbing buck-wheat; also corn convolvulus. |
| 1828 Webster, *Corn-blades are collected and preserved as fodder, in some of the southern states of America. |
| 1865 B. Brierley Irkdale I. 92 He's as shy at new faces as a bird at a *curn boggart. |
| 1786 Sparrman Voy. Cape G.H. II. 249 In their company came a husbandman, or, as they are usually called here, a *corn-boor, from the country near Cape Town. |
| 1731 Medley Kolben's Cape G. Hope II. 268 *Corn-Bottles were brought to the Cape with the corn that was first sow'd there. |
| 1844 G. Featherstonhaugh in Chamb. Jrnl. 5 Oct. 223 He crept softly through a *corn-brake which lay between the animal and himself, and fired. |
| a 1817 T. Dwight Travels (1822) IV. 485 Straw bonnets, Brushes, *Corn Brooms. 1930 M. de la Roche Finch's Fortune (1931) xxvi. 339 She was scrubbing the mud with a corn broom. 1963 Times 25 Feb. p. xvi/3 But youngsters in Canada swarmed to the rinks by the thousands and between the flashy long slide and the remarkable sweeping with corn brooms, as opposed to the Scots' scrubbing brush, they were completely sold on the game. |
| 1794 G. B. Hepburn Agric. Surv. East Lothian 74 (Jam.) Hay and the different kinds of grain are carried on the open spoked cart, known by the name of *corn-cart. |
| 1419 Liber Albus (Rolls) i. 243 Quilibet capitalis mensurarius habeat unum quarterium, et bussellum, et stryk, et *corndisshe. |
| 1856 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 22 The occupier preferred hiring to purchasing a *corn-drill. |
| 1889 Rep. Secr. Agric. (U.S.) 360 The *Corn Ear⁓worm (Heliothis armigera) has done considerable damage to the ears of field corn. 1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Dec. 519/3 To protect the young cobs of corn from attacks by the corn ear worm, D.D.T. may be applied as a spray. |
| 1794 Tomlins Law Dict. (1809) s.v. Corn, The exportation of corn [is] to be regulated in London, Kent, Essex, and Sussex by the prices at the *Corn Exchange. |
| 1907 in G. Carson Cornflake Crusade (1957) (photograph between pp. 148 and 149), Toasted *cornflakes. 1908 Sat. Even. Post 31 Oct. 55/3 There are 13 imitations of Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes. 1920 F. S. Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise (1921) i. ii. 51 Amory indulged in a club sandwich, cornflakes, and Julienne potatoes. 1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway ix. 241, I breakfasted in a hurry on cornflakes and bacon and eggs. 1960 J. Betjeman Summoned by Bells v. 44 And, in the morning, cornflakes, bread and tea. |
| 1388 Wyclif Ezek. xvii. 10 It schal..wexe drye in the *cornfloris of his seed [Vulg. in areis germinis sui arescet]. 1535 Coverdale Hos. ix. 1 Straunge rewardes hast thou loued, more then all corne floores [so 1611 and 1885]. Therfore shall they nomore enioye the cornefloores [1611 the floor, 1885 threshingfloor] and wynepresses. |
| 1744 Ellis Mod. Husb. Feb. vi. 39 Our Farmers, never fail to sow Hog⁓pease..for the great Service their stalks do the Farmer, in supplying him with the best of *Corn-fodder. 1772 Carroll Papers in Maryland Hist. Mag. XIV. 288 We shall get in all our Corn Fother by the middle of next week. 1838 H. Colman Rep. Agric. Mass. 24 Farmers..estimate the corn fodder or stover upon an acre as equal to three fourths of a ton of English hay. 1904 M. E. Waller Wood-carver ii, I can look..up the slope of the mountain, across the stony corn-fodder patch. |
| 1862 Mrs. Stowe in Independent 13 Feb. (Bartlett), A very minute account which Mrs. Kittridge was giving of the way to make *corn-fritters which should taste exactly like oysters. 1903 N.Y. Even. Post 26 Sept., Corn fritters may be made of this hard corn. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. iii. 5 *Corne-grass hath many grassie leaues. |
| 1794 T. Davis Agric. Wilts 114 The undersoil is a loose irregular mass of that kind of flat broken stones called in Wiltshire, ‘*Corn Grate’. |
| 1841 Knickerbocker XVII. 234 Improved..*corn-grinders. a 1854 G. Furman Antiq. Long Isl. (1875) 97 At Maspeth Kills..Indian corn-grinders..have been frequently ploughed up. 1854 Corn-grinder [see metate]. 1880 Hardy Trumpet-Major I. ii. 23 Miller Loveday was the representative of an ancient family of corn-grinders. 1907 Daily Chron. 14 Nov. 6/2 Disguised as corn-grinders. |
| 1905 Westm. Gaz. 30 Nov. 8/2 That they shall revert to *corn-grinding. 1927 Peake & Fleure Peasants & Potters 48 The discovery of corn-grinding stones. |
| 1822 Conybeare & Phillips Geol. 202 In Wiltshire it is known by the name of the cornbrash or *corn-grit. The latter appellation however is improper because it is not a grit. |
| 1865 Lubbock Preh. Times 230 In many places the ground is covered with small mammillary elevations, which are known as Indian *corn-hills. |
| 1609 C. Butler Fem. Mon. vi. (1623) O iij, When it is turned white and hard (euen like unto sugar) it is called *corn-hony or stone-hony. |
| 1660 Willsford Scales Comm. 155 The dimension of round, concave and dry measures, as Pecks, Bushels, Strikes, *Corn-hoops, etc. |
| 1795 Hull Advertiser 7 Nov. 2/4 The *corn jobber..from this sample bought up the whole. |
| a 1848 Robb Squatter Life (Bartlett), Tom wanted a fight..he was too full of *corn-juice to cut carefully. 1854 P. B. St. John Amy Moss 50 He..did anything..which youthful spirits and ‘corn-juice’ prompted. |
| 1931 N. Mitchison (title) The *Corn King, and the Spring Queen. 1947 C. S. Lewis Miracles xiv. 137 The deity—Adonis, Osiris..—[was] almost undisguisedly a personification of the corn, a ‘corn-king’ who died and rose again each year. |
| 1616 Edinb. Test. XLIX. 99 b (D.O.S.T.), The *corne kist, price fowr pundis. 1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Whitby 42/2 Coornkist, the corn-bin. |
| 1936 Huntly Express 10 Jan. 6 There was speeches made, an' *cornkisters sung. 1937 St. Andrews Citizen 27 Mar. 4/1 The programme was as follows:— Opening chorus and a curn corn-kisters. |
| 1856 Trans. Mich. Agric. Soc. VII. 54 Six *corn knives. 1948 Chicago Daily News 9 Oct. 3/3 Anything from a machete to a hatchet or corn knife. |
| 1890 Daily News 9 Oct. 5/2 The..rates of wages for dockers and *cornmen. |
| 1650 Fuller Pisgah iv. vii. 129 Joseph was *corn-meater generall in Egypt. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 549 Corn-meter [as one of the public officers of Hindustan]. |
| 1883 Gd. Words Nov. 733/2 Later in the season this [rust] develops into the *corn-mildew. |
| 1551 Turner Herbal i. (1568) G vj b, Thys kynde of Calamynte..is called in Englishe comonly *corne mynt. 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. IV. 163 Corn Mint. is one of the commonest species of mint. |
| a 1835 Mrs. Hemans Earth Poems 398 The *corn-month's golden hours will come. |
| 1766 Compl. Farmer 4/1 The possibility of destroying the *corn moth, or worm, without hurting the grain. 1869 Rep. U.S. Comm. Agric. 1868 315 The clothes-moth and corn-moth are representatives of the family. |
| 1890 J. G. Frazer Gold. Bough I. iii. 341 Out of the last sheaf the Bulgarians make a doll which they call the Corn-queen or *Corn-mother. |
| 1765 Lond. Chron. 24 Aug. 192 A poor man..fell from a *corn-mow..and fractured his skull. a 1796 Burns Ploughman, Commend me to the barn-yard, And the corn-mou, man. |
| 1846 J. S. Griffin Diary 24 Nov. in Calif. Hist. Soc. Q. (1942) XXI. 216 They had nothing to eat but penolas & *corn mush. 1928 D. H. Lawrence Woman who rode Away 81 Tortillas and corn-mush with bits of meat. 1941 A. Huxley Let. 13 Mar. (1969) 465 Most of the southern farmers still prefer corn mush..to vegetables. |
| 1847 Carolina Housewife 101 *Corn Oysters. Grate corn, while green and tender, with a coarse grater, in a deep dish. To two ears of corn allow one egg; beat the whites and yolks separately, and add them to the corn, with one table-spoonful of wheat flour and one of butter. ? 1862 Mrs. Stowe in Independent (Bartlett), In this secret direction about the mace lay the whole mystery of corn-oysters. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Javelier, a *corne-pike, or pitchforke, wherewith sheaues of corne be loaden, and vnloaded. 1714 J. Walker Suff. Clergy ii. 394/1 One Susan Bolke..came, and with her Corn-Pike, made at Morton. |
| 1891 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 20 Nov. 8/3 For a time this morning there was a panic in the *corn-pit, and the November option of that cereal sold up 7 cents from the closing price of yesterday. |
| 1874 B. F. Taylor World on Wheels i. viii. 63 The baggage-car is as lively with all sorts of baggage as corn in a *corn-popper. 1877 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 4) Add., Corn-popper, an instrument the top of which is like a sieve, in which corn is held over a fire to roast or ‘pop’. 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 12 Oct. 20/1 (Advt.), Corn Poppers at, each 45c. 1946 Reader's Digest Jan. 60/1 The Boy would have the cornpopper waiting. |
| 1884 Harper's Mag. Sept. 610/2 What romps they would have! what *corn-poppings! |
| 1830 tr. Aristophanes' Acharnians, etc., Birds 228 Stones..the *cornrails chiselled with their bills. |
| 1665 D. Lloyd Fair Warnings 17 The setling of the *Corne-rate for the Universities. |
| 1794 Burns Rigs o' Barley, *Corn rigs, an' barley rigs, An' corn rigs are bonnie. a 1845 Barham Ingol. Leg., Jerry Jarvis, Hid in a corn-rig. |
| 1899 Westm. Gaz. 4 Jan. 8/1 The last number of the Harvard Graduates' Magazine says that..the two old boys..went to a *corn-roast. 1923 Beaver Oct. 29/2 Girls of the office staff spent an enjoyable time..the occasion being a corn roast. 1944 E. A. Holton Yankees were like This 256 Eating clams is the only act more messy than gnawing corn off the cob at a corn roast. |
| 1870 H. Macmillan Bible Teach. vi. 121 In appearance the *corn-rust is a mere patch of reddish-yellow powder. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal (1633) 104 (L.) Called..in English, corne-flag, *corn-sedge, sword-flag, corne-gladen. |
| 1813 in Mem. Philad. Soc. for Promoting Agric. (1814) III. 250 (caption) Description of the *Corn sheller..One bushel of corn in the ears, may with ease be shelled in five minutes. 1825 Boston Monthly Mag. I. 25 A patent corn-sheller..may be of more service to the community, than all the poems of Byron or the novels of Scott. 1851 C. Cist Cincinnati 169 Corn-shellers, to shell twenty to fifty bushels per hour. 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. 9 A thing..that turns out results like a corn-sheller. |
| 1813 in Mem. Philad. Soc. for Promoting Agric. (1814) III. 249 The inventor of the *corn shelling machine..is John Haven, of Montgomery county [Penna.]. a 1848 G. F. Ruxton Life Far West (1849) 62 Better for him had he minded his corn-shelling alone. 1877 J. Habberton Jericho Road xiii. 120 The pork-packin' and corn-shellin' seasons nearly on us. |
| 1861 Harper's Mag. Aug. 322/2 [The] Tinea Maisinia—‘*Corn-silk Moth’..feeds only on the efflorescence or silk of the corn. 1878 B. F. Taylor Between Gates 258 Let the fellow's hair turn the color of corn-silk in the sun. 1902 S. E. White Blazed Trail xxxix. 279 His eyes desired to follow the soft white curve of her cheek to dance with the light of her corn-silk hair. 1967 Boston Sunday Herald 26 Mar. iv. 5/3 Ada Cloninger..had never smoked anything since a girlish bout with corn silk. 1968 Washington Post 5 July A 18/3 Dyed corn husks, corn silk and pipe cleaners. |
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 558/1 Among the devices in common use are..corn cutters, *corn silkers, pea briners, [etc.]. |
| 1883 Gd. Words Nov. 735/2 *Corn-smut is not nearly so injurious as corn-mildew. |
| 1890 J. G. Frazer Gold. Bough I. 307 The *corn-spirit seems to be only an extension of the older tree-spirit. |
| 1771 Encycl. Brit. III. 621/1 Spergula..arvensis, or *corn-spurrey. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 294 Corn spurry..is found most frequently in soils rather moist. 1962 A. R. Clapham et al. Flora Brit. Isles (ed. 2) 257 S[pergula] arvensis, Corn Spurrey, an annual herb with ascending geniculate stems 7·5–40 cm., branching close to the base. |
| 1862 Exhibition, Rep. of Juries (1863) III A, 13 Maizena or *corn starch used for food. 1887 Hood's Cook-bk. No. 7 Cake made from corn-starch. |
| 1884 T. Speedy Sport x. 176 Those who conceal themselves in *corn-stooks. |
| 1903 U.S. Dept. Agric. Circular No. 10 8 Glucose sirup or *corn sirup is glucose unmixed or mixed with sirup or molasses. 1964 Listener 26 Nov. 842/2 They regarded..British rations with varying degrees of horror. ‘What,’ said the Canadians, ‘no corn syrup?’ |
| 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d' Alf. 233 As if they had pull'd out his Eyes with Pincers and held him by the nose with *Corne-tongs. 1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 69 Corn Tongs..[are] Tweezers with the gripping points formed to resemble the shell of a barley corn. They are used by jewellers for picking up stones, etc. |
| 1725 Pope Odyss. xxiii. 291 An oar my hand must bear; a shepherd eyes The unknown instrument with strange surprise And calls a *corn-van. |
| 1665 Hooke Microgr. 152 Of the seeds of Venus looking-glass, or *Corn Violet. |
| 1840 J. & M. Loudon tr. Köllar's Treat. Insects ii. 117 The *Corn Weevil.. The perfect insect is of small size, linear shape, with a narrow rostrum. 1850 Rep. Comm. Patents Agric. 1849 335 The other species of corn-weevil alluded to,..the granary weevil, is more common in this country. 1880 O'Neill & Williams Amer. Farmer's Handbk. xiv. 642 (heading) Corn Weevil.—A small insect... The female deposits her eggs upon corn in granaries, and the young larva at once burrows into the grain. |
| 1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase 172 Candidates..making licentious speeches, treating to *corn whiskey, violating the sabbath. 1873 ‘Mark Twain’ & Warner Gilded Age xiii. 130 A bottle of apparently corn-whiskey. 1948 Sat. Rev. 28 Aug. 12/3 Chism himself teaches eleven-year-old Jarvis to drink corn whiskey. |
Add:
[IV.] [11.] corn circle = crop circle s.v. *
crop n. 22.
| [1987 Flying Saucer Rev. XXXII. vi. 12/2 The surface plants..were laid out along the same veining contours that we had already come to associate with all the cornfield circles.] 1989 in J. Schnabel Round in Circles (1993) 80, I have been meaning to write to you for some time on the subject of *corn circles... About six or seven years ago I was fortunate enough to see one of these form in a field at Westbury. 1990 New Scientist 11 Aug. 23/3 Dozens of flattened rings in wheat have been reported recently in Australia... The rings resemble the corn circles found in southern Britain. 1991 Independent 5 Jan. (Mag.) 9/3 In this respect the shroud controversy is reminiscent of that of the corn circles, about which feverish debate continues. |
▸
corn dog n. N. Amer. a hot dog covered in maize-flour batter, typically deep-fried and served on a stick.
| 1939 Washington Post 29 July 9/8 They came right back with one of their home-town delicacies, the ‘*corn dog’, which is a frankfurter baked in cornbread. So now I shall have another excuse to pay them a visit to Texas. 1987G. Keillor State Fair in Leaving Home (1989) 114, I smell fall in the air, manure, corn dogs. |
▸
cornsilk adj. N. Amer. (of hair) resembling the colour and texture of cornsilk; fine and pale blonde.
| 1894 Daily Rev. (Decatur, Illinois) (Electronic text) 29 May They would be far more appropriate for that fairy-like little sister of hers, with the pansy eyes and *corn-silk hair. 1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet iv. 292 The month-old corn-silk beard which concealed most of his abraded face. 1995 J. Hildebrand Mapping Farm viii. 100 Her angular face and cornsilk hair favored the St. Georges. |
▪ II. corn, n.2 (
kɔːn)
[a. OF. corn, later cor, horn, also corn on the foot:—L. cornū horn.] 1. a. A horny induration of the cuticle, with a hard centre, and a root sometimes penetrating deep into the subjacent tissue, caused by undue pressure, chiefly on the toes or feet from tight or hard boots. The earlier native name was
angnail,
agnail (where see other
quots.).
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 93 Coorne or harde knott in þe flesche, cornicallus. 1547 Boorde Brev. Health ii (1552) 3 Clauus..In englyshe it is named cornes or agnelles in a mannes fete or toes. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. v. 22 She that makes dainty, She Ile sweare hath Cornes. 1655 W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. Introd. i. (1669) 6/2 When he is pinch'd on that Toe where his Corn is. 1710 Swift Tatler No. 238 ¶3 A coming Show'r your shooting Corns presage. 1839 Todd Cycl. Anat. II. 524/1 Corns are sometimes developed at the roots of the fingers. 1846 Wellington in Nonconformist VI. 13 The Duke begs to say he has no corns and never means to have any. It is his opinion that if there were no boots there would be no corns. |
b. In horses' feet: A bruise of the sensitive parts of the heel, in the angle between the bars and the wall of the hoof, caused by the pressure of the shoe, or by the violent contact of stones or other hard substances.
[It is doubtful whether the first
quot. belongs here. Bosw.-Toller has it under
corn n.1 Quot. 1616 may mean ‘hoof’:
Cotgr. 1611 has as senses of F.
corne ‘..also the hoofe of a beasts foot; also, the sit-fast (a hard or hornie swelling in the backe-part of a horse)’.]
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 62 Þis mæᵹ horse wið þon þe him bið corn on þa fet. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 145 The disease of the hoofe or the corne. 1663 Butler Hud. i. i. 434 Caesar's Horse, who, as Fame goes, Had Corns upon his Feet and Toes. 1787–91 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsem. (1809) 25 Spavins, splints, corns..being all curable. |
2. to tread on any one's corns:
fig. to wound his susceptibilities.
| c 1845 C. Brontë Professor (1857) II. xxv. 240 To work me into lunacy by treading on my mental corns. 1855 Thackeray Newcomes II. 239 Insulted the doctor, and trampled on the inmost corns of the nurse. 1886 Miss Tytler Buried Diamonds iv, We cannot avoid treading on each other's corns as we go on our various ways. |
3. Comb., relating to the treatment or cure of corns, as
corn-doctor,
corn-extractor,
corn-knife,
corn-operator,
corn-plaster,
corn-rubber,
corn-salve;
corn-footed,
corn-sick adjs.;
corn-cure, a remedy for corns;
corn-leaf (
dial.), the Navel-wort (
Cotyledon Umbilicus). Also
corn-cutter2.
| 1767 S. Paterson Another Trav. I. 301 The noted corn-doctor. 1771 Contempl. Man I. 76 The Coach now over⁓taking them, to the great Joy of Mr. Crab, who was Corn-sick. 1818 Byron Let. in J. Murray's Mem. & Corr. (1891) I. 398 He brought nothing but his papers, some corn-rubbers, and a kaleidoscope. 1819 P.O. Lond. Directory 379 Wolff & Son, Corn-operators. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 27 The vendors of corn-salve. 1854 Pharmac. Jrnl. XIII. 459 They are used for corns and warts..hence..called corn-leaves. 1868 Morning Star 16 Jan., His client was not a corn-cutter, but a corn-extractor. 1868 G. Meredith Let. 31 Jan. (1970) I. 369 In a fit of distraction I may stick a corn plaster on the envelope instead of a Queen's Head. 1879 Chemist & Druggist 15 Feb. 58/2 Corn Plaster (Dr. Smith).—Felt rings spread with sticking-plaster. Ibid. 15 Mar. 134/1 The adhesive surface of Corn Plaisters, as usually made, is..a gelatinous solution. 1881 Graphic 21 May (Advt.), Bond's marvellous corn cure. 1906 R. Whiteing Ring in New 158 The methods of a puff for corn-cure. 1913 J. Stephens Here are Ladies 71 An old, ache-ridden, cough-racked, corn-footed septuagenarian. 1970 D. Clark Sweet Poison iii. 60 Common household medicines—T.C.P., plasters, Panadol, two or three ointments and a corn cure. |
▪ III. † corn, corne, n.3 Obs. [In sense 1, a. OF. corn, later cor a horn, as an instrument of music:—L. cornū. Cf. also F. corne horn of a beast, projecting corner, etc.:—L. cornua, pl. of cornū, in Romanic a fem. sing.; cf. L. arma, F. arme.] 1. A musical instrument, a horn.
In first
quot. app. a mere reproduction of the Latin.
| [a 1340 Hampole Psalter xcvii[i]. 6 Syngis til oure god..in voice of trumpe corne [Vulg. voce tubæ corneæ].] c 1477 Caxton Jason 29 Jason dide do sowne trompettis, tabours, and cornes. |
2. Fortif. A horned work or
hornwork.
| 1693 Mem. Ct. Teckely ii. 106 The next day Teckely..took the Corn almost in the view of the Town. |
3. ? A corner.
Cf. corned2 2.
| 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. xiv. 68 Rings..made like them at the hatches cornes (by which we take them up and lay them downe). |
▪ IV. corn, v. (
kɔːn)
[f. corn n.1: a number of uses connected only by their common relation to the n. in its various senses.] I. 1. trans. To form into grains; to granulate;
spec. to bring (gunpowder) into roundish particles or grains by working it through sieves.
| 1560 Whitehorne Ord. Souldiours (1588) 28 Pouder..must be corned, and then dryed. 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. xiv. 71 Serpentine powder in old time was in meale, but now corned. 1679 Plot Staffordsh. (1686) 94 A quart of the strongest and stalest Ale..which cornes it [salt] greater or smaller according to the degree of its staleness. 1729 G. Shelvocke Artillery ii. 104 Powder when it is corned is more active and powerful than when pulverized. 1796 Hull Advertiser 6 Aug. 2/4 This mill..was used for..corning the powder. 1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 496/1 The composition..is..sent to the corning-house to be corned or grained; here it is first pressed into a hard and firm body, broken into small lumps, and the powder is then grained by these lumps being put into sieves, etc. |
† 2. intr. To take the form of grains, to become granular.
Obs.| 1560 Whitehorne Ord. Souldiours (1588) 28 Into the which Seeue the pouder must be put while it is dancke, and also a little bowle, that when you sifte, it may roule vp and doune vpon the clots of pouder, to breake them, that it may corne, and runne through the hooles of the Seeue. 1644 Nye Gunnery i. (1647) 20. 1674–91 Ray Making Salt Coll. 206 After one hour's boiling the Brine will begin to corn. 1679 Plot Staffordsh. (1686) 94 They boile it [the brine] again gently till it begin to Corne. |
II. 3. trans. To sprinkle with salt in grains; to season, pickle, or preserve with salt; to salt.
| 1565–73 Cooper Thesaurus, Aspergere salem carnibus, to corne with salt. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 167 Some corneth, some brineth, some will not be taught, where meate is attainted, there cookrie is naught. 1634 R. H. Salernes Regim. 86 The foresaid fishes be better, beeing a little corned with Salt, then fresh, or utterly salt. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) V. 266 The beef was woundily corned. 1801 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 1800, 110 Herrings sprinkled (or, as it is termed, ‘roused or corned’) with a moderate quantity of salt. 1882 Sat. Rev. LIV. 642 Obliged to corn a great part of the meat as the only way of preserving it for use. |
III. † 4. To provision with corn or grain.
rare.
| 1456 Sc. Acts Jas. II (1814) 45 (Jam.) Thai ar bettir cornyt than thai war fernyere, and thair innemys war cornyt. |
5. To give (a horse) a feed of oats.
Sc. and
north.| 1753 Stewart's Trial 171 The pannel called at the deponents house..to have his horse corned. 1786 Burns To Auld Mare ix, When thou was corn't, an' I was mellow, We took the road ay like a swallow. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet let. xiii, There is nothing like corning the horse before the journey. 1876 Robinson Whitby Gloss., Coorn'd, supplied with food. ‘Get 'em coorn'd’, get the animals fed. |
IV. 6. intr. Of cereals, or pulse: To form the corns or seeds in the ear or pod; to
kern.
| 1632 Quarles Div. Fancies iii. liii. (1660) 122 The infant Eares shoot forth, and now begin To corn. 1660 Sharrock Vegetables 102 When it begins to corn in the ear. 1884 Times 20 June 4 Spring-sown beans..are short, thin, weak, and cannot corn well. |
V. † 7. To produce corn.
Obs. rare.
| 1590 R. W. 3 Lords & Ladies in Hazl. Dodsley VI. 397 There will never come his like, while the earth can corn. |
8. trans. To crop (land) with corn or grain; in
U.S. to plant with maize.
| 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653) 184 And when you have corned your Land as much as you intend, then to alter it to Claver is the properest season. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. iii. §4 (1681) 27. 1886 U.S. Consular Rep. No. ix. 40 Those hundreds of thousands of acres of once valuable Southern lands, corned to death, and now lying to waste in worthless sage grass. 1940 J. Stuart Trees of Heaven 129 I'd corn this land three years, then I'd sow it in wheat and orchard grass. |
▪ V. † corn, coren, ppl. a. Obs. Early form of
chosen. For
quots. see
choose v. A. 6.