Word Study
acorn
CIDE DICTIONARY
acorn, n. [AS. æcern, fr. æcer field, acre; akin to D. aker acorn, Ger. ecker, Icel. akarn, Dan. agern, Goth. akran fruit, akrs field; -- orig. fruit of the field. See Acre.].
- The fruit of the oak, being an oval nut growing in a woody cup or cupule. [1913 Webster]
- A cone-shaped piece of wood on the point of the spindle above the vane, on the mast-head. [1913 Webster]
- See Acorn-shell. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
acorn, n. the fruit of the oak, with a smooth nut in a rough cuplike base.
Idiom
acorn barnacle a multivalve marine cirriped, Balanus balanoides, living on rocks. acorn worm any marine wormlike animal of the phylum Hemichordata, having a proboscis and gill slits, and inhabiting seashores.
Etymology
OE {aelig}cern, rel. to {aelig}cer ACRE, later assoc. with OAK and CORN(1)
For further exploring for "acorn" in Webster Dictionary Online