kernel
kernels; kernelling
Whether it’s the kernel of a pistachio nut or the kernel of wisdom in a story, kernel can refer to the center or essential part of something.
The word kernel traces back to the Old English word cyrnel, which is related to corn. If you have ever eaten corn on the cob, you ate the kernels. Popcorn is made by heating corn kernels until they explode, or "pop." Like these examples, sometimes kernel means "a small bit" or "single piece," as in a story someone tells you that couldn't possibly have happened as described, but still has a kernel of truth about human nature.
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a single whole grain of a cereal
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the inner and usually edible part of a seed or grain or nut or fruit stone“black walnut kernels are difficult to get out of the shell”
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synonyms:
meat
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type of:
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plant part, plant structure
any part of a plant or fungus
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plant part, plant structure
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the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
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synonyms:
center, centre, core, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nitty-gritty, nub, pith, substance, sum
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types:
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bare bones
(plural) the most basic facts or elements
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hypostasis
(metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality
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haecceity, quiddity
the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other
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distillation, quintessence
the purest and most concentrated essence of something
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stuff
a critically important or characteristic component
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type of:
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cognitive content, content, mental object
the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned
Vocabulary lists containing kernel
In 1957, Melba Pattillo Beals was one of nine African-American students who integrated Little Rock Central High School, an experience she discusses in her celebrated memoir Warriors Don't Cry. In this follow-up, she recounts growing up in the South under oppressive Jim Crow laws.
When her Arab-American family moves to Jerusalem, Liyana is unprepared for the prejudice they face — or for the close bond she forms with a Jewish boy named Omer.
In this popular graphic novel, Callie works on the stage crew of her school's spring musical while trying to navigate friendships and crushes.
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