Cornels

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of fruit from certain species of dogwood trees, known for its small, tart, and edible qualities
2. Referring to the drupes produced by various cornel trees that can be used in jams and jellies
3. Describing the berries of the Cornus genus, often utilized in traditional medicine and cuisine

Etymology: "Cornels" is simply the plural of "cornel," so its history is that of the singular noun. The word came into Middle English as "corneille," borrowed from Middle French, and it traces back to a Vulgar Latin form "cornicula," a diminutive of the Latin "cornus," the name for the European cornel tree. The Latin root is the same one that gave us "cornel" its tree-related sense, and the French and English forms then took on the fruit's name as well. The interesting twist is the connection hidden in the Latin: "cornicula" is a diminutive, so the word's core idea is a small version of the tree's name, and the shape of the English word still preserves a faint echo of its French route. Sharing that origin, "cornel" and "cornelian" are closely related in form, though the stone "carnelian" is a separate word with a different history.

Synonyms: dogwoods