Where does “corner” come from?
Corner comes from Middle English corner, from Anglo-Norman cornere, from Old French corne meaning horn, from Latin cornu, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ḱerh₂-.
corner (English): The point where two converging lines meet; an...
Definitions
- The point where two converging lines meet; an...
Ancestry of “corner”, step by step
corner traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English corn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | corn | The main cereal plant grown for its grain in a... |
| 2 | Middle English | corn | Any plant that bears grain, especially wheat; a... |
| 3 | Old English | corn | corn, a grain or seed; a cornlike pimple, a corn... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | korn | corn, grain, cereal |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | kurną | corn, grain, cereal |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵr̥h₂nóm | grain |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵr̥h₂nós | matured, grown old |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵerh₂- | to grow old, to mature |
via Middle English corner
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | corner | A corner or angle; an intersection of two objects... |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | cornere | — |
| 3 | Old French | corne | horn |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | corna | horn; nominative plural of cornum; accusative... |
| 5 | Latin | cornua | nominative plural of cornū; accusative plural of... |
| 6 | Latin | cornū | horn; antler |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱerh₂- | head, top; horn |