Where does “corny” come from?
Corny derives from English corn, from Middle French -ie, from Latin -ium, from Latin cornua, from Proto-Indo-European -kos, ultimately from Latin cornu meaning horn.
corny (English): Boring and unoriginal; Hackneyed or excessively...
Definitions
- Boring and unoriginal; Hackneyed or excessively...
Ancestry of “corny”, step by step
corny traces back through 3 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 French corne
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | corne | — |
| 2 | Old French | corne | horn |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | corna | horn; nominative plural of cornum; accusative... |
| 4 | Latin | cornua | nominative plural of cornū; accusative plural of... |
| 5 | Latin | cornū | horn; antler |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱerh₂- | head, top; horn |
via Middle English corny
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | corny | fleshy, swollen; malty; tasting of malt;... |
| 2 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 3 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |