corm
UK[kɔːm]US[kɔːrm]
n
A short, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ, enabling the plant to survive adverse conditions and producing new shoots and roots each growing season.
Etymology
The term 'corm' entered English in the early 19th century from the modern Latin 'cormus', which was itself adapted from the Greek 'kormos'. The Greek word originally referred to the lopped trunk of a tree. This semantic connection lies in the shared physical characteristic of a solid, bulbous, and often cylindrical form. In botanical science, the term was specifically adopted to describe a type of underground storage stem that, unlike a bulb, is solid tissue. Thus, the ancient concept of a stout, truncated log evolved into the precise modern term for a key plant organ in perennials like crocus and gladiolus.
Analysis
The word 'corm' is a simplex loanword. It is a modern botanical term derived from the Greek word 'kormos', meaning "a trimmed tree trunk" or "log".
Examples
The crocus plant grows from a corm, which stores nutrients during its dormant period.
Gardeners often separate corms in the autumn to propagate new plants.
Botanically, a corm is distinguished from a bulb by its solid, stem-like interior structure.