Background for kern

kern

/kɜːn/

Illustration kern - Image 1

noun

A corn; grain; kernel.

Examples :

"The farmer harvested a bin full of kern from his field. "

food agriculture plant

Illustration kern - Image 1

noun

The last handful or sheaf reaped at the harvest.

Examples :

"After a long day in the wheat field, the farmers gathered around the kern, celebrating the end of the harvest. "

agriculture tradition history

Illustration kern - Image 1

noun

The harvest home.

Examples :

"After a summer of hard work in the fields, the farmers celebrated the kern with a large feast and dancing. "

agriculture tradition festival

Illustration kern - Image 1

noun

Any part of a letter which extends into the space used by another letter.

Examples :

"The lowercase "f" in that font has a long kern that overlaps the "i" beside it. "

type writing language technical computing

Illustration kern - Image 1

verb

Examples :

"The designer decided to kern the letters "W" and "a" closer together in the company logo to make it look more balanced. "

technology computing writing style type language art

Illustration kern - Image 1

noun

A light-armed foot soldier of the ancient militia of Ireland and Scotland; in archaic contexts often used as a term of contempt.

Examples :

"The English officer dismissed the captured Irish kerns as mere rabble, unfit for proper military service. "

military history person war

Illustration kern - Image 1

noun

A boor; a low person.

Examples :

"The new student was considered a kern by some of the other kids because he was so rude and disrespectful. "

person character moral

Illustration kern - Image 1

noun

An idler; a vagabond.

Examples :

"The boy was a bit of a kern, often skipping school and wandering around the town. "

person character society

Illustration kern - Image 1

noun

A mill for grinding corn, especially a hand-mill made of two circular stones.

Examples :

"In the museum, we saw a simple kern, a stone hand-mill used long ago to grind corn into flour. "

agriculture utensil machine food history

Illustration kern - Image 1

noun

Examples :

"The recent staff changes caused a real kern at the office, with many people feeling unsettled. "

utensil agriculture