core

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The central or most important part of something.

   The core of the problem is a lack of money.

2. 2
   noun

   The hard middle part of a fruit such as an apple, which holds the seeds.

   She threw the apple core into the bin.

3. 3
   adj

   Forming the most important or essential part of something.

   Reading and writing are core skills for every student.

4. 4
   verb

   To remove the central part from a fruit.

   Peel and core the apples before baking them.

From Middle English core, kore, coor (“apple-core, pith”), of obscure and uncertain origin. Possibly of native English origin, from Old English *cor, related to Old English *coruc, *corc (diminutive) (> Middle English cork, crok (“core of an apple or other fruit, heart of an onion”)) and Old English corn (“seed", also "grain”); or alternatively perhaps from Old French cuer (“heart”), from Latin cor (“heart”); or from Old French cors (“body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Compare also Middle English colk, coke, coll (“the heart or centre of an apple or onion, core”), Dutch kern (“core”), German…

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