kernel

n.

1. A grain or seed, as of a cereal grass, enclosed in a husk.
2. The inner, usually edible seed of a nut or fruit stone.
3. The most material and central part; the core: “that hard kernel of gaiety that never breaks” (Evelyn Waugh).

[Middle English, from Old English cyrnel.]

kerneled ker'neled adj.

The nucleus of an operating system. It is the closest part to the machine level and may activate the hardware directly or interface to another software layer that drives the hardware. The kernel orchestrates the entire operation of the computer by slicing time for each system function and each application as well as managing all the computer's resources. It typically resides in memory at all times. See microkernel, monolithic kernel, kernel space and kernel panic.

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noun

1. A fertilized plant ovule capable of germinating: pip, pit², seed. See start/end.
2. A source of further growth and development: bud¹, embryo, germ, nucleus, seed, spark¹. See start/end.
3. The most central and material part: core, essence, gist, heart, marrow, meat, nub, pith, quintessence, root¹, soul, spirit, stuff, substance. Law gravamen. See be.

Whole grains and the meats of nuts and stone fruit pips or pits.

IN BRIEF: A seed.

Can you put the kernel back in the nut or the broken egg in its shell? — zaadz.com.

Tutor's tip: The officers nicknamed the "colonel" (military rank between lieutenant colonel and brigadier general) "kernel" (part of an ear of corn) for his penchant to eat corn at every meal.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - kerne

Nederlands (Dutch)
pit, kern, korrel

Deutsch (German)
n. - Kern, Korn
v. - Körner bilden

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ψίχα κουκουτσιού, κουκούτσι, πυρήνας, μόνιμο τμήμα λειτουργίας Η/Υ ή προγράμματος, (μτφ.) πεμπτουσία, ουσία
v. - περικλείω σε κέλυφος

Italiano (Italian)
nocciolo, nucleo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - semente (f), parte comestível de uma noz, grão (m) de cereal, cerne (m), parte (f) essencial

Русский (Russian)
зерно, ядро, суть

Español (Spanish)
n. - núcleo, meollo, pipa, pepita, grano, médula, almendra, semilla
v. tr. - encerrar, granar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kärna, (vete)korn
v. - hårdna till kärna

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
仁, 核心, 要点, 粒, 子

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 仁, 核心, 要點, 粒, 子

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 낟알, 열매, 중심부

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 仁, 粒, 核心, 要点

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جوهر الشي, النواة, لب النواة (فعل) يكون أو يغلف اللب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮גלעין, גרעין, זרע, עיקר, החלק האכיל של פרי או אגוז‬

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