Re: CHAT: corn (was: [CHAT] Aussie terminology question)

Quoting Henrik Theiling <theiling@...>:


> > FWIW, in Swedish, _korn_ is barley. Barley was the dominant cereal
> > for so long that the original specific name _bjugg_ was simply
> > replaced by the originally general _korn_.
>
> Ah, and was it 'cereal' before that generalisation or was it 'grain'?
Both. :p

As a count noun, it always meant 'grain', as far as I know; a _sandkorn_ is a
grain of sand, frex. As a mass noun, it used to mean 'cereal', but is now
specifically 'barley'. No doubt, the words are ultimately the same. I suppose
you could also use _korn_ as a count noun refering to a specific kind of
barley, but I'd be inclined to say _kornsort_ instead.

There's also _korn_ as the name of the little thingy near the muzzle on a
firearm that helps you aim, which I suppose is named for looking like a grain,
and a word _korn_ for the proportion of noble metal in a coin; I have no idea
if this is related or just a homophone.

                                                       Andreas

Reply