# acorns and oak trees

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-and-oak-trees/117024>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 2, 2002, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-and-oak-trees/117024 "2002-07-02T14:19:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kento](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/22d042/32.png) [@kento](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kento)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-and-oak-trees/117024/1 "2002-07-02T14:19:09Z")

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why aren’t acorns called oaknuts, or conversley, why aren’t oak trees called acorn trees??

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-and-oak-trees/117024/2 "2002-07-02T14:40:24Z")

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The commonly given etymology of _acorn_ is that it is from _oak_ (or some variant spelling such as _ake_) + _corn_ (meaning “seed” here). Actually, that isn’t true. It is from a Germanic root meaning something like “wild fruit or nuts.” It was eventually confined to the nut of oak trees.