I. ˈkȯr noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English
Date: 14th century
1. : a central and often foundational part usually distinct from the enveloping part by a difference in nature
the core of the city
as
a. : the usually inedible central part of some fruits (as a pineapple) ; especially : the papery or leathery carpels composing the ripened ovary in a pome fruit (as an apple)
b. : the portion of a foundry mold that shapes the interior of a hollow casting
c. : a vertical space (as for elevator shafts, stairways, or plumbing apparatus) in a multistory building
d.
(1) : a mass of iron serving to concentrate and intensify the magnetic field resulting from a current in a surrounding coil
(2) : a tiny doughnut-shaped piece of magnetic material (as ferrite) used in computer memories
(3) : a computer memory consisting of an array of cores strung on fine wires ; broadly : the internal memory of a computer
e. : the central part of a celestial body (as the earth or sun) usually having different physical properties from the surrounding parts
f. : a nodule of stone (as flint or obsidian) from which flakes have been struck for making implements
g. : the conducting wire with its insulation in an electric cable
h. : an arrangement of a course of studies that combines under basic topics material from subjects conventionally separated and aims to provide a common background for all students
core curriculum
i. : the place in a nuclear reactor where fission occurs
2.
a. : a basic, essential, or enduring part (as of an individual, a class, or an entity)
the staff had a core of experts
the core of her beliefs
b. : the essential meaning : gist
the core of the argument
c. : the inmost or most intimate part
honest to the core
3. : a part (as a thin cylinder of material) removed from the interior of a mass especially to determine composition
II. transitive verb
( cored ; cor·ing )
Date: 15th century
: to remove a core from
core an apple
• cor·er noun
III. noun
Etymology: perhaps alteration of Middle English chore chorus, company, perhaps from Latin chorus
Date: 1622
chiefly Scottish : a group of people