core English · revision 3767

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1325|origins=la cor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /kɔː/, US /kɔːr/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|kore]],^(Barnhart 1988) probably [[bor|fro|cuer|t=core of fruit, heart of a vegetable; heart]] (coeur),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|cor|t=heart]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*kerd-|t=heart]].^(Etymonline) Hoad, Merriam-Webster and the New Oxford call it of unknown origin.^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) It has traditionally been thought to replace colk “heart of an apple”, but that word is not recorded until about 1400, while the form cork “core of an apple” is from probably about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The central part of an apple or pear: probably before 1325 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the early 14th century in Etymonline, as the heart or inmost part of anything,^(Etymonline) and 1398 in the OED, as the horny seed capsule.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An unburnt part in the centre of a coal is from about 1420,^(OED 1989) and the hard centre of a boil from 1532.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) The general sense “central or innermost part” is from the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986) A central portion cut out and removed, as of rock in boring, is from the 1640s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The internal mould of a casting is from 1730,^(Etymonline) and the part of a nuclear reactor holding the fuel from 1949.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, to remove the core of fruit, is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1325 – the core of a fruit.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1420 – the centre of a coal.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-15th century – verb, to core.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1532 – the core of a boil.^(OED 1989)

+ * 17th century – the central part of anything.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1640s – a cylinder cut out.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1730 – a mould for a casting.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1949 – the core of a nuclear reactor.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The hard central part of a fruit such as an [[apple]], containing the seeds.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The central or innermost part of anything.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The most important part; the [[essence]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A set of required courses in a [[curriculum]].^(AHD)

+ # The central part of a [[nuclear reactor]], containing the fuel.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[cylinder]] of rock or soil taken by drilling.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To remove the core of.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[corer]]

+ * [[coreless]]

+ * [[coremaker]]

+ * [[multicore]]

+ * [[hard-core]]

+ * [[soft-core]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[heart]]

+ * [[cordial]]

+ * [[courage]]

+ * [[record]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate ''core'', “a body of people, a company”, chiefly Scottish from 1622, is an alteration of Middle English chore “chorus”.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) In dialect ''core'' was also the heart or pith of wood and a disease of sheep.^(Wright 1898) CORE is also the Congress of Racial Equality.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}