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acorn

Etymology and origin of the English word acorn

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈeɪ.kɔːn/ (UK); /ˈeɪ.kɔɹn/, /ˈeɪkɚn/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English akern, inherited from Old English æcern (“nut, mast of trees”),[2][3][4][5][6] a common Germanic word related to Old Norse akarn and Gothic 𐌰𐌺𐍂𐌰𐌽 (akran, “fruit”),[3][4][6] usually connected with *akraz “field”, the source of acre, as “fruit of the open land”.[4] Random House finds that derivation dubious, and Merriam-Webster and the AHD relate it to Lithuanian uoga “berry”.[6][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fruit generally, or the mast of trees (c. 1000), and specifically the fruit of the oak (c. 1000).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The sense was gradually restricted to the most important of forest produce for feeding pigs, the mast of the oak.[4][3] The regular modern form would be *akern;[4] the spelling acorn arose in the 15th and 16th centuries by folk etymology, the word being taken as a compound of oak and corn “kernel”, neither of which is related.[2][3][4][6] The OED's first quotation for the proverb great oaks from little acorns grow, in some form, is from 1584.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – fruit of trees; the oak's fruit.[7][3]
  • 15th–16th centuries – the spelling acorn.[3][4]
  • 1580 – an object shaped like an acorn.[7]
  • 1937 – acorn squash.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The fruit of an oak, a single-seeded nut set in a woody, cup-shaped base.
  2. An ornament or knob shaped like an acorn.

Word family

  • acorned
  • acorn woodpecker
  • acorn squash
  • oak
  • acre
  • mast

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

  • psalm · also from Old English
  • alms · also from Old English
  • mildew · also from Old English
  • warlock · also from Old English
  • scythe · also from Old English
  • doughty · also from Old English
  • starboard · also from Old English
  • mirth · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“Acorn.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/acorn. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·