Emily Dickinson Lexicon

KERN'EL, n. [Sax. cyrnel, a little corn, grain or nut; G. and D. kern; Fr. cerneau; W. cwaren, a gland, a kernel.]

1. The edible substance contained in the shell of a nut. – More.
2. Any thing included in a shell, husk or integument; a grain or corn; as, a kernel of wheat or oats.
3. The seed of pulpy fruit; as, the kernel of an apple. – Bacon.
4. The central part of any thing; a small mass around which other matter is concreted; a nucleus. – Arbuthnot.
5. A hard concretion in the flesh.