Cornstalk

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The elongated stem of a maize plant that facilitates the support of its foliage and ears while also contributing to the plant's structural integrity
2. This structure serves as the central axis for a corn plant, vital for upholding its leaves and reproductive sections for proper growth
3. The tall, sturdy stalk that supports the leaves and ears of a maize plant

Etymology: "Corn" in this compound does not mean the grain most Americans picture. In older English, "corn" was a general word for any cereal crop or grain, and in Britain it still meant wheat, oats, or barley. The name "corn" was then applied to maize when Europeans encountered it in the Americas and needed a familiar label for the new plant. "Stalk" is the older and more ordinary half of the pair. It is a plain English word for the stem of a plant, and it combines with "corn" to name the tall, woody stem left standing in the field after the ears are harvested. The compound is transparent: a corn stalk is literally the stalk of a corn plant.

Synonyms: maize stalk