English
core
Core comes from Middle English core.
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English core
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh]: “the core of the square”.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coreWiktionary, English core
- Englishearliest quotation 1614coreWiktionary, English core. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh]: “the core of the square”
The story
Possibly of native English origin, from Old English *cor, related to Old English *coruc, *corc (diminutive) (> Middle English cork, crok (‘core of an apple or other fruit, heart of an onion’)) and Old English corn (‘seed", also "grain’); or alternatively perhaps from Old French cuer (‘heart’), from Latin cor (‘heart’); or from Old French cors (‘body’), from Latin corpus (‘body’).disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it.
Linked words
through Latin cor
record, courageous, accord, discord, concord, cordial, 11 more
through Vulgar Latin *corem ‘heart’
Another origin of core
- Biblical Hebrewc. 1000–200 BCEכֹּרkōr
- Englishtodaycore
Today it means
noun The central part of a fruit, containing the kernels or seeds.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “core”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Middle English core / core