Corn - Definition and Overview

A plate of sweetcorn

Corn is a term that applies to any staple food grain—that is, a fruit of a plant in the Grass Family (oaceae). Originally, the term referred to the kernel of any grain; for instance, barleycorn. In various English-speaking countries, the term is generally used for a particular grain. Thus:

• In North America and Australia, corn means maize. Usage as a generic term for grain has been lost. Common segments include:
  • Sweetcorn, a hybridised variety of maize with a high sugar content. (This is the variety found in supermarkets and roadside stands).
  • Popcorn Selected varieties of corn that will explode when heated.
  • Field corn, once described as roasting ears. Used for human consumption as grits, hominy, corn meal, corn starch, corn syrup. Mostly grown as a feed crop for cattle and other livestock.
  • The term corn is also used to refer to maize in various food products made from maize such as cornbread, corn meal, corn dog etc.
• In England, corn means wheat, although the word often retains its generic meaning there.
• In Scotland, corn may refer to oats.

Candy corn is a soft candy shaped somewhat like a maize kernel.

A corn can also be a callus—a horny or hardened place on the human skin, most often occurring on the foot. This hardening extends into the subcutaneous layers of the skin and can become tender or painful.

____ Corn is a type of humor as in "that is a corney joke". Corn as a word is funny due to it's hard "K" sound.