acorn
nounUS /ˈeɪ.kɔɹn/ · UK /ˈeɪ.kɔːn/
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ógr̥der.? Proto-Germanic *akraną Proto-West Germanic *akarn Old English æcern ▲ Middle English corninflu. Middle English acorn English acorn Inherited from Middle English acorn, an alteration (after corn) of earlier *akern, from Old English æcern (“acorn, oak-mast”), from Proto-West Germanic *akarn, from Proto-Germanic *akraną (“fruit; acorn, nut”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂égrō (“berry”). Cognates Cognate with Scots aicorn (“acorn”), Dutch aker (“acorn”), German Ecker (“acorn”), Danish agern (“acorn”), Faroese and Icelandic akarn (“acorn”), Norwegian Nynorsk åkorn (“acorn”), Gothic 𐌰𐌺𐍂𐌰𐌽 (akran, “fruit”); Irish airne (“sloe”), Welsh aeron (“berries; small fruits”), eirin (“plums”), Latgalian ūga (“berry”), Latvian oga (“berry”), Lithuanian uoga (“berry”), Belarusian я́гада (jáhada, “berry”), Bulgarian, Russian, and Ukrainian я́года (jáhoda, “berry”), Czech and Slovak jahoda (“strawberry”), Macedonian ја́года (jágoda, “strawberry”), Polish and Slovene jagoda (“berry”), Serbo-Croatian ја̏года, jȁgoda (“strawberry”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B oko (“fruit”). Not related to Old English āc (“oak”), corn (“corn, seed”) or Middle English acquerne.
The fruit of the oak, being an oval nut growing in a woody cup or cupule.
Informal The glans penis.
- The Romans, likewise, represented the uncouth Priapus—the god of rustic fertility and sexual assault—as comically well endowed, with his acorn showing.2021, A. W. Strouse, Form & Foreskin: Medieval Narratives of Circumcision:
Plural normally, Slang A testicle.
- Derived terms
- acorn barnacle, acorn cup, acorn disease, acorned, acornlike, acorn moth, acorn nut, acorn squash, acorn sugar, acorn weevil, acorn woodpecker, acorn worm, acorny, eggcorn, even a blind pig can find an acorn, even a blind pig can find an acorn once in a while, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in a while, mount a horse foaled by an acorn, ride a horse foaled by an acorn, ride a horse foaled of an acorn, sea acorn
- Holonyms
- oak