Etymologically
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corner

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈkɔː.nə/, US /ˈkɔːr.nɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English corner,[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman corner, a variant of Old French cornere,[3][4] from corne (“horn, corner”),[3][4] from Vulgar Latin *corna,[3][4] from Latin cornua, plural of cornū (“horn, point, end”),[3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“horn, head”).[4] Latin cornu was used of pointed or stiff things but not of corners, for which the word was angulus.[4] It is related to horn.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The meeting-place of converging sides or edges: about 1280 in Barnhart,[3] and 1292 in the OED.[5] Etymonline has “a place where streets or walls meet” in the late 13th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

An angle in geometry is from the early 14th century.[4] A region or district, as in the four corners of the earth, the corners of the eyes, and a small, secret or retired place are from the late 14th century.[4] A difficult position is from 1548.[3] In boxing corner is from 1853, and in football it is short for a corner kick by 1882.[4] Monopolizing the market supply of a commodity is from 1853, and the verb in this sense from 1836.[4] The verb “to furnish with corners” is from before 1387,[3][5] “to drive into a corner” is American English from 1824,[3][4] and “to go round a corner”, as in a race, from the 1860s.[4][3] Turn the corner is from the 1680s, just around the corner, “about to happen”, by 1905, and cut corners by 1847, figurative by 1882.[4] Cornerstone is from about 1280.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1280 – a corner, and cornerstone.[3]
  • before 1387 – verb, to furnish with corners.[3]
  • late 14th century – a region; a secret place.[4]
  • 1548 – a difficult position.[3]
  • 1680s – turn the corner.[4]
  • 1824 – verb, to drive into a corner.[3][4]
  • 1836 – verb, to monopolize a market.[4]
  • 1853 – in boxing; a monopoly.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The place where two lines, sides or edges meet; the area inside such an angle.
  2. The place where two roads or streets meet.
  3. A remote or secluded place; a region: every corner of the country.
  4. A difficult or awkward position.
  5. A monopoly of the supply of a stock or commodity.
  6. (football) A corner kick.

Verb

  1. To drive into a position from which escape is difficult.
  2. To gain control of a market by buying up a commodity.
  3. Of a vehicle, to turn a corner.

Adjective

  1. Located on a corner: a corner shop.

Word family

  • cornered
  • cornerman
  • cornerback
  • cornerstone
  • cornerways
  • cornerwise
  • catty-corner
  • hole-and-corner

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press