county in the far southwest of England, from Old English Cornwalas (891) "inhabitants of Cornwall," literally "the Corn Welsh," from the original Celtic tribal name *Cornowii (Latinized as Cornovii), literally "peninsula people, the people of the horn," from Celtic kernou "horn," hence "headland," from PIE *ker- (1) "horn; head, uppermost part of the body" (see horn (n.)), in reference to the long "horn" of land on which they live. To this the Anglo-Saxons added the plural of Old English walh "stranger, foreigner," especially if Celtic (see Welsh). The Romans knew it as Cornubia; hence poetic Cornubian.
Probably influenced by Old French escorne "affront, disgrace," which is a back-formation from escorner, literally "to break off (someone's) horns," from Vulgar Latin *excornare (source of Italian scornare "treat with contempt"), from Latin ex- "without" (see ex-) + cornu "horn" (see horn (n.)).
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "horn; head," with derivatives referring to horned animals, horn-shaped objects, and projecting parts.
It forms all or part of: alpenhorn; Capricorn; carat; carotid; carrot; carotene; cerato-; cerebellum; cerebral; cerebrum; cervical; cervix; charivari; cheer; chelicerae; corn (n.2) "hardening of the skin;" cornea; corner; cornet; cornucopia; cranium; flugelhorn; hart; hartebeest; horn; hornbeam; hornblende; hornet; keratin; kerato-; migraine; monoceros; reindeer; rhinoceros; saveloy; serval; triceratops; unicorn.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit srngam "horn;" Persian sar "head," Avestan sarah- "head;" Greek karnon "horn," koryne "club, mace," koryphe "head;" Latin cornu "horn," cervus "deer;" Old English horn "horn of an animal;" Welsh carw "deer."
word-forming element meaning "horn, horn-like part," from Latinized form of Greek keras (genitive keratos) "horn of an animal; horn as a substance," from PIE root *ker- (1) "horn, head."
Old English hyrnet, hurnitu "large wasp, beetle, gadfly," probably from Proto-Germanic *hurz-nut- (source also of Old Saxon hornut; Middle Dutch huersel, Dutch horzel (with diminutive suffix); Old High German hornaz, German Hornisse "hornet"), from a PIE imitative (buzzing) root; compare Old Church Slavonic srusa, Lithuanian širšu "wasp." On this theory, the English word (as well as German Hornisse) was altered by influence of horn, to suggest either "horner" (from the sting) or "horn-blower" (from the buzz). Compare also Old Saxon hornobero "hornet," literally "trumpeter." Figurative of troublesome and persistent attacks.
"small gherkin," 1825, from French cornichon, diminutive of corne "horn" (of an animal), from Latin cornu "horn of an animal," from PIE root *ker- (1) "horn; head." So called for their shape.
