kernel

CEFRC1

/ˈkɜː.nəl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The inner part of a seed, nut, or grain.

  2. 02

    noun

    The central or most important part of something.

Examples

  • I got a great kernel panic a day or two ago.

  • The Linux kernel is monolithic.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈkərnəl/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A single seed of grain, especially of corn or wheat.

  2. The central (usually edible) part of a nut, especially once the hard shell has been removed.

  3. The core, center, or essence of an object or system.

More examples

In context

  • The Dirichlet kernel convolved with a function yields its Fourier series approximation.

  • The Linux kernel is open-source.

  • the kernel of an argument

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank of the walnut is the edible part inside the hard shell.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English kernel, kirnel, kürnel, from Old English cyrnel, from Proto-West Germanic *kurnil, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *kurną (“seed, grain, corn”), equivalent to corn + -le. Cognate with Yiddish קערנדל (kerndl), Middle Dutch kernel, cornel, Middle High German kornel. Related also to Old Norse kjarni (“kernel”).