Skip to main content
cornel

cornel

1 9.9
A small tree with showy white or pink flowers and red berries
  • noun
  • /ˈkɔrnəl/
translation icon : cornisca
  • In many gardens, the cornel is favored for its stunning bracts that resemble petals and enhance the landscape.

Examples

  • During our hike, we noticed a vibrant cornel shrub with bright red berries along the path.

  • The cornel tree blooms in early spring, displaying beautiful white flowers that attract many pollinators.

  • Our master of ceremonies, madam cornel.

  • Will do cornel.

  • Cornel West?

  • Where's Cornel...

  • I forget who it was that did an excellent critique of Dubois' communistic leanings; I think it was either Henry Louis Gates or Cornel West.

    Blog text (10)
  • In contrast to the Euro-American model, in the main, African American scholars and preachers have been "organic intellectuals," a term Cornel West borrows from Gramsci to describe their holistic approach.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Last year, Summers redressed Professor Cornel West for grade inflation (among other things), but ended up being dragged into the mud by West and his colleagues in the Afro-American studies department, who used all of the usual tactics of academic racial politics to humiliate Summers.

    Academic text (2003)

Synonyms

dogwood
vscornel
11 5.9

A small tree or shrub that has showy flowers in spring and colorful stems

is mainly noted as a temperate shrub or small tree with showy bracts
dogwood tree
vscornel
1 4.5

A small tree with bright white or pink flowers in clusters

is a shrub or small tree typically found in temperate regions

Compounds

dwarf cornel
  • Specialized
9.9

A low-growing plant with groups of leaves and bright red berries that grows in cold northern areas

9.7

A bush with purple stems and blue fruit that grows in eastern North America

Surface Forms

cornel singular
cornels plural

Etymology

Cornel comes from the old Latin word cornus meaning 'horn', because the tree's wood is very hard like a horn; so a cornel is a small tree known for its strong wood and its showy flowers and red berries.