*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of acorn

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ógr̥der.? Proto-Germanic *akraną Proto-West Germanic *akarn Old English æcern ▲ Middle English corninflu. Middle English acorn English acorn Inherited from Middle English acorn, an a

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

The fruit of the oak, being an oval nut growing in a woody cup or cupule. · A cone-shaped piece of wood on the point of the spindle above the vane, on the mast-head. · See acorn-shell. · The glans penis.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ógr̥der.? Proto-Germanic *akraną Proto-West Germanic *akarn Old English æcern ▲ Middle English corninflu. Middle English acorn English acorn Inherited from Middle English acorn, an alteration (after corn) of earlier *akern, from Old English æcern (“acorn, oak-mast”), from Proto-West Germanic *akarn, from Proto-Germanic *akraną (“fruit; acorn, nut”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂égrō (“berry”). Cognates Cognate with Scots aicorn (“acorn”), Dutch aker (“acorn”), German Ecker (“acorn”), Danish agern (“acorn”), Faroese and Icelandic akarn (“acorn”), Norwegian Nynorsk åkorn (“acorn”), Gothic 𐌰𐌺𐍂𐌰𐌽 (akran, “fruit”); Irish airne (“sloe”), Welsh aeron (“berries; small fruits”), eirin (“plums”), Latgalian ūga (“berry”), Latvian oga (“berry”), Lithuanian uoga (“berry”), Belarusian я́гада (jáhada, “berry”), Bulgarian, Russian, and Ukrainian я́года (jáhoda, “berry”), Czech and Slovak jahoda (“strawberry”), Macedonian ја́года (jágoda, “strawberry”), Polish and Slovene jagoda (“berry”), Serbo-Croatian ја̏года, jȁgoda (“strawberry”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B oko (“fruit”). Not related to Old English āc (“oak”), corn (“corn, seed”) or Middle English acquerne.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:acorn",
        "tree": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂ógr̥der.?\nProto-Germanic *akraną\nProto-West Germanic *akarn\nOld English æcern\n▲\nMiddle English corninflu.\nMiddle English acorn\nEnglish acorn\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂ógr̥\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*akraną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*akarn\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"æcern\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" }, { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"influ.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Influenced by\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"corn\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"influence\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"acorn\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"acorn\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"acorn\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "acorn",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English acorn"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "acorn"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle English acorn"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "æcern",
        "t": "acorn, oak-mast"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English æcern (“acorn, oak-mast”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*akarn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *akarn"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*akraną",
        "t": "fruit; acorn, nut"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *akraną (“fruit; acorn, nut”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₂ógr̥",
        "4": "*h₂égrō",
        "t": "berry"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₂égrō (“berry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "aicorn",
        "t": "acorn"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots aicorn (“acorn”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "aker",
        "t": "acorn"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch aker (“acorn”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Ecker",
        "t": "acorn"
      },
      "expansion": "German Ecker (“acorn”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "agern",
        "t": "acorn"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish agern (“acorn”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo,is",
        "2": "akarn",
        "t": "acorn"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese and Icelandic akarn (“acorn”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "åkorn",
        "t": "acorn"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk åkorn (“acorn”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌰𐌺𐍂𐌰𐌽",
        "t": "fruit"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌰𐌺𐍂𐌰𐌽 (akran, “fruit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ga",
        "2": "airne",
        "t": "sloe"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish airne (“sloe”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "aeron",
        "t": "berries; small fruits"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh aeron (“berries; small fruits”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ltg",
        "2": "ūga",
        "t": "berry"
      },
      "expansion": "Latgalian ūga (“berry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lv",
        "2": "oga",
        "t": "berry"
      },
      "expansion": "Latvian oga (“berry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "uoga",
        "t": "berry"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian uoga (“berry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "be",
        "2": "я́гада",
        "t": "berry"
      },
      "expansion": "Belarusian я́гада (jáhada, “berry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bg,ru,uk",
        "2": "я́года",
        "t": "berry"
      },
      "expansion": "Bulgarian, Russian, and Ukrainian я́года (jáhoda, “berry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cs,sk",
        "2": "jahoda",
        "t": "strawberry"
      },
      "expansion": "Czech and Slovak jahoda (“strawberry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "mk",
        "2": "ја́года",
        "t": "strawberry"
      },
      "expansion": "Macedonian ја́года (jágoda, “strawberry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pl,sl",
        "2": "jagoda",
        "t": "berry"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish and Slovene jagoda (“berry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sh",
        "2": "ја̏года"
      },
      "expansion": "Serbo-Croatian ја̏года"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "xto,txb",
        "2": "oko",
        "t": "fruit"
      },
      "expansion": "Tocharian A and Tocharian B oko (“fruit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "āc",
        "t": "oak"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English āc (“oak”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "acquerne"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English acquerne"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:acorn",
        "tree": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂ógr̥der.?\nProto-Germanic *akraną\nProto-West Germanic *akarn\nOld English æcern\n▲\nMiddle English corninflu.\nMiddle English acorn\nEnglish acorn"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₂ógr̥",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ógr̥"
    ],
    [
      "*akraną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/akraną"
    ],
    [
      "*akarn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/akarn"
    ],
    [
      "æcern",
      "æcern#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "corn",
      "corn#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "acorn",
      "acorn#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "acorn",
      "acorn#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "corn",
      "corn#English"
    ],
    [
      "æcern",
      "æcern#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*akarn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/akarn"
    ],
    [
      "*akraną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/akraną"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂égrō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ógr̥"
    ],
    [
      "aicorn",
      "aicorn#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "aker",
      "aker#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Ecker",
      "Ecker#German"
    ],
    [
      "agern",
      "agern#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Faroese",
      "akarn#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "akarn",
      "akarn#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "åkorn",
      "åkorn#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "𐌰𐌺𐍂𐌰𐌽",
      "𐌰𐌺𐍂𐌰𐌽#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "airne",
      "airne#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "aeron",
      "aeron#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "eirin",
      "eirin#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "ūga",
      "ūga#Latgalian"
    ],
    [
      "oga",
      "oga#Latvian"
    ],
    [
      "uoga",
      "uoga#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "я́гада",
      "ягада#Belarusian"
    ],
    [
      "Bulgarian",
      "ягода#Bulgarian"
    ],
    [
      "Russian",
      "ягода#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "я́года",
      "ягода#Ukrainian"
    ],
    [
      "Czech",
      "jahoda#Czech"
    ],
    [
      "jahoda",
      "jahoda#Slovak"
    ],
    [
      "ја́года",
      "јагода#Macedonian"
    ],
    [
      "Polish",
      "jagoda#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "jagoda",
      "jagoda#Slovene"
    ],
    [
      "ја̏года",
      "јагода#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "jȁgoda",
      "jagoda#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "Tocharian A",
      "oko#Tocharian_A"
    ],
    [
      "oko",
      "oko#Tocharian_B"
    ],
    [
      "āc",
      "ac#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "corn",
      "corn#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "acquerne",
      "acquerne#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The fruit of the oak, being an oval nut growing in a woody cup or cupule.",
        "A cone-shaped piece of wood on the point of the spindle above the vane, on the mast-head.",
        "See acorn-shell.",
        "The glans penis."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ],
      "recordId": "419ded2abc245b8caf68601dd380ba6586c67b44ad586745e3e767a7585b4ec3",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7a3b18b55f339ca35c39c8aee8ca6e11fd348efaa3acc7960ee5a0856a41ffdf",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 36639
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for acorn →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YWNvcm4