Etymograph

English

kern

Kern comes from French carne ‘corner’, and goes back to Latin cardō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcardō1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcardinem1
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentcarne2‘corner’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1856kern2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French carne
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English kern
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1856, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Odd Fellows' Literary Casket: “A few types have a portion of the face…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcardōWiktionary, French carne
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcardinemWiktionary, French carne
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentcarneWiktionary, English kern‘corner’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1856kernWiktionary, English kern. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1856, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Odd Fellows' Literary Casket: “A few types have a portion of the face…”

Linked words

through Latin cardō

cardinal, charnel, 3 more

Today it means

noun Any part of a letter which extends into the space used by another letter.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “kern”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French carne. 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 / Latin cardō / kern

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