n. the fruit of the oak, with a smooth nut in a rough cuplike base.
Phrases and idioms:
acorn barnacle a multivalve marine cirriped, Balanus balanoides, living on rocks. acorn worm any marine wormlike animal of the phylum Hemichordata, having a proboscis and gill slits, and inhabiting seashores.
Etymology: OE {aelig}cern, rel. to {aelig}cer ACRE, later assoc. with OAK and CORN(1)