(Commonwealth English,but not Canada, Australia, or New Zealand,uncountable) Any cereal plant (or its grain) that is the main crop or staple of a country or region.
Moreover, however much the individual manufacturer might give the rein to his old lust for gain, the spokesmen and political leaders of the manufacturing class ordered a change of front and of speech towards the workpeople. They had entered upon the contest for the repeal of the Corn Laws, and needed the workers to help them to victory. They promised, therefore, not only a double-sized loaf of bread, but the enactment of the Ten Hours' Bill in the Free Trade millenium.
1887, James Death, The Beer of the Bible: One of the Hitherto Unknown Leavens of Exodus.[…], page 12:
[T]here exists arguments in favour of regarding one of the eatable varieties of "leaven," Machmetzeth, as the beer of the Hebrews. The mention of beer by the Egyptians is frequent; under the name of Hek, two intoxicating beverages are included. The components of these beers, individually, are not known: one was made from corn, the other was a medicated or sweetened beer, due to the addition of honey, or system of brewing.
1809, Edward Augustus Kendall, Travels Through the Northern Parts of the United States:
The planting or sowing of maize, exclusively called corn, was just accomplished on the Town Hill, when I reached it.
1998 February 18, Colin G. Calloway, New Worlds for All: Indians, Europeans, and the Remaking of Early America, JHU Press, →ISBN, pages 51–52:
Corn was the staff of life for many Indian people before contact, and it became the staff of life for many European colonists. Corn was higher in nutrition than most other grain crops. John Lawson, who travelled in South Carolina and into the interior Indian country in 1701, was one of the many colonists who sang the praises of corn.
Verely, verely, I ſay vnto you, Except a corne of wheat fall into the ground, and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
A small, hard particle.
1612–1626, Joseph Hall, “[Contemplations upon the Principal Passages in the Holy Story. Book I.]Of Man.”, in Josiah Pratt, editor, The Works of the Right Reverend Father in God, Joseph Hall, D.D.[…], volume I (Contemplations), London:[…]C[harles] Whittingham,[…]; for Williams and Smith,[…], published 1808, →OCLC, part IV (Contemplations on the Old Testament), page 8:
The least corn of sand is not so small to the whole earth, as man is to the heaven:[…]
2014 June 9, Andrae Hugh Sutherland respectively Popcaan of Popcaan (lyrics and music), “Where We Come From” (track 13), in Where We Come From:
R.I.P Scumpy ah you did say Popcaan And if a boy diss we clap corn.
2016 September 9, Liquez respectively Dimzy of 67 (lyrics and music), “Jump Out Gang” (track 7), in Let’s Lurk:
We got spinners and dotties We got .40s and MACs We got nuff live corn […] See the four-door pausing Skengs out, everyone runnin But the corn just slapped and floored em 50 shots in that mop
(US,Canada) Something (e.g., acting, humour, music, or writing) which is deemed old-fashioned or intended to induce emotion.[2]
1975, Tschirlie, Backpacker:
He had a sharp wit, true enough, but also a good, healthy mountaineer's love of pure corn, the slapstick stuff, the in-jokes that get funnier with every repetition and never amuse anybody who wasn't there.
1986, Linda Martin, Kerry Segrave, Women in Comedy:
There were lots of jokes on the show and they were pure corn, but the audience didn't mind.
2007, Bob L. Cox, Fiddlin' Charlie Bowman: an East Tennessee old-time music pioneer and his musical family:
The bulk of this humor was pure corn, but as hillbilly material it was meant to be that way.
“Corn (emotion)”, in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, 2007 November 23 (last accessed), archived from the original on 4 December 2007
whos wynewing cloþ is in his hond .· ⁊ he ſchal fulli clenſe his coꝛn flooꝛ / and he ſchal gadere his wheete in to his berne .· but þe chaf he ſchal bꝛenne wiþ fier þat mai not be quenchid
His winnowing fan is in his hand; he'll fully clean his threshing-floor, he'll gather up his wheat into his barn, and he'll burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.
An oþer parable iheſus puttide foꝛþ to hem. / ⁊ ſeide / þe kyngdom of heuenes is lijk to a coꝛn of ſeneuey · which a man took ⁊ ſewe in his feeld · / which is þe leeſt of alle ſeedis / but whanne it haþ woxen .· it is the mooſt of alle woꝛtis · ⁊ is maad a tre / ſo þe bꝛiddis of þe eir comen ⁊ dwellen in þe bowis þerof.
Jesus put another parable forwards to them, saying: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in their field; / it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is the largest of all plants; it becomes a tree, so the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
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Further reading
R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “corn”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
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