kernel
n.
seed, softer and often edible section contained within husk or stone; grain (of wheat, corn, etc.); point, essence, core; part of an operating system which deals with basic hardware (Computers)
Kernel
kernel
Noun
1. the inner and usually edible part of a seed or grain or nut or fruit stone; "black walnut kernels are difficult to get out of the shell"
(synonym) meat
(hypernym) plant part, plant structure
(part-holonym) seed
2. a single whole grain of a cereal; "a kernel of corn"
(hypernym) grain, caryopsis
(hyponym) corn
3. the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story"
(synonym) substance, core, center, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, pith, sum, nitty-gritty
(hypernym) content, cognitive content, mental object
(hyponym) bare bones
Kernel
(v. i.)
To harden or ripen into kernels; to produce kernels.
(n.)
The essential part of a seed; all that is within the seed walls; the edible substance contained in the shell of a nut; hence, anything included in a shell, husk, or integument; as, the kernel of a nut. See Illust. of Endocarp.
(n.)
The central, substantial or essential part of anything; the gist; the core; as, the kernel of an argument.
(n.)
A small mass around which other matter is concreted; a nucleus; a concretion or hard lump in the flesh.
(n.)
A single seed or grain; as, a kernel of corn.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
About
kernel
A
module of a
program that forms a logical entity or performs a unit function. Note: The most vulnerable portion of
code in a secure
operating system is a special case of a kernel.