Kernel Meaning
/ˈkɜː.nəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe core, center, or essence of an object or system.
nounThe central (usually edible) part of a nut, especially once the hard shell has been removed.
Sentence Examples
I got a great kernel panic a day or two ago.
The Linux kernel is monolithic.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of the walnut is the edible part inside the hard shell.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The software ____ is the core part of the operating system that manages the computer's basic resources.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Using the blunt end of one of the vibraphone mallets, he pried open her folds. With the balled end of the other, he rhythmically rolled over her kernel."
— 2014, Karyn Gerrard, Irene Preston, Lotchie Burton, et al: Summer Heat: 10 Spicy Romances That Sizzle:
"1. In every atom is an essential kernel which remains unaltered in all ordinary chemical changes and which possesses an excess of positive charges corresponding in number to the ordinal number of the group in the periodic table to which the element belongs."
— 1916, Gilbert N. Lewis, “The Atom and The Molecule”, in Journal of the American Chemical Society, 38(4) p 768:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of the walnut is the edible part inside the hard shell.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The software ____ is the core part of the operating system that manages the computer's basic resources.