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corkboard

corkboard

5.5
A board made from cork that keeps buildings warm
  • noun
  • /ˈkɔrkˌbɔrd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tablero de corcho
  • Dangling from the side of the building was a gnarled air conditioner; the niche for the unit had been cut too big, and someone had stuffed the resulting space with oil rags, plastic grocery sacks, and scraps of corkboard.

Examples

  • Completely covering one side of the study, it was an expanse of corkboard measuring nearly twenty feet by twelve.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • This corkboard is perfect for pinning up reminders and important notes in my office.

  • She decorated the corkboard with photos and postcards from her travels.

  • The teacher used a large corkboard to display students' artwork in the classroom.

Surface Forms

corkboard singular
corkboards plural

Morphology

corkboard = cork + board (transparent) = cork + board

The meaning is a literal compound 'board made of cork' even when used for a building insulation material; the components directly indicate the referent.

Etymology

The word corkboard is made of cork and board, where cork is the light, springy 'bark' from a cork tree and board means 'a flat piece of wood or material'. Because cork traps air and helps 'keep heat in' and resists moisture, a corkboard is used as a building material to keep rooms warm.