Main Entry:

ker·nel

Pronunciation:

\ˈkər-n^əl\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Old English cyrnel, diminutive of corn

Date:

before 12th century

1chiefly dialect : a fruit seed2: the inner softer part of a seed, fruit stone, or nut3: a whole seed of a cereal <a kernel of corn>4: a central or essential part : germ <like many stereotypes…this one too contains some kernels of truth — S. M. Lyman>5: a subset of the elements of one set (as a group) that a function (as a homomorphism) maps onto an identity element of another set