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Glite Dictionary
corn smut

corn smut

9.3
A disease caused by a fungus that makes big grey growths on corn ears
  • noun
  • /kɔrn smʌt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : carbón del maíz
  • The unusual appearance of corn smut makes it a subject of interest in both agriculture and culinary circles.

Examples

  • The fungus Ustilago maydis causes corn smut, which appears as large, swollen galls on maize plants.

  • Perhaps the most extreme case of this is the Mexican corn smut known to science as Ustilago maydis.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Farmers must take preventive measures to avoid the costly effects of corn smut on their corn crops.

Synonyms

cornsmut
vscorn smut
  • Specialized
9.9

A disease that makes black swollen lumps on corn ears

is the broader description focusing on greyish swollen galls rather than naming the species
boil smut
vscorn smut
  • Archaic
9.9

A disease of corn that makes grey-white bumps burst and show black dust

focuses on large greyish galls without mentioning rupture or spore release

Surface Forms

corn smut singular
corn smuts plural

Morphology

corn + smut

The compound is directly compositional: 'smut' names a fungal disease and 'corn smut' simply denotes that disease affecting corn/maize. A B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer it is a fungal disease of corn (even if precise botanical symptoms are somewhat specialized vocabulary).

Etymology

Corn smut comes from the dirty, swollen lumps a fungus makes on corn; the dark growths looked like a patch of 'smut' or dirt on the ear. So corn smut means a fungal 'disease' of corn, and in Mexico those swollen kernels are called 'huitlacoche' and eaten as a 'delicacy'.