[core] n, often attrib [ME] (14c) 1: a central and often foundational part usu. distinct from the enveloping part by a difference in nature "~ of the city": as a: the usu. inedible central part of some fruits (as a pineapple); esp: the papery or leathery carpels composing the ripened ovary in a pome fruit 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) usu. 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 "~ 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 ~ of experts" "the ~ of her beliefs" b: the essential meaning: gist "the ~ of the argument" c: the inmost or most intimate part "honest to the ~"
3: a part (as a thin cylinder of material) removed from the interior of a mass esp. to determine composition
[2]core vt cored ; cor.ing (15c): to remove a core from -- cor.er n [3]core n [perh. alter. of ME chore chorus, company, perh. fr. L chorus] (1622) chiefly Scot: a group of people