I've often wondered how two words so similar could be so opposite in meaning. A cortex, from the Latin word for bark (as in tree bark that is), is an outer layer, such the cortex of a kidney or better yet the outer layer of the brain containing the gray matter. A core on the other hand, is the middle or inner part (e.g. the molten core of the earth). M-W describes the etymology of core vaguely as "Middle English" but doesn't shed any real light on it. Can anybody explain?
Dear Alex: The "tex" part comes from a root for a guess Latin "tego" meaning "I cover".
As in integument, etc.
NGLISH WORD
tego
to cover
Word Morphology
(when available)
tego (tegere), texi, tectum
Part of Speech
verb
Inflection Pattern
(when available)
lego
English derived word
(when available)
tectiform
So a cortex is the tex that covers the core? Is "Texas" then somehow related to covering your ass?
Hey Alex: I think you just invented a very val;uable headsup phrase, to warn colleagues
they have an endangered southern exposure to imminent hazard.
You could hum a couple bars of "The Yellow Rose of Texas".
CORTEX
1. Anatomy a. The outer layer of an internal organ or body structure, as of the kidney or adrenal gland. b. The outer layer of gray matter that covers the surface of the cerebral hemisphere.
2. Botany The region of tissue in a root or stem lying between the epidermis and the vascular tissue.
3. An external layer, such as bark or rind.
ETYMOLOGY: Latin, bark. See 'sker' in Appendix
------------------------------------------------------------
ENTRY: sker
DEFINITION: Also ker-. To cut.
EXTENDED ROOTS: *skert-, *kert-.
Zero-grade form *kt- or o-grade form *kort-. cortex; decorticate, from Latin cortex, bark (“that which can be cut off”).
Source:
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
Cor is Latin for heart, and tego, tegere means to cover. The bark of a tree, covers the wood.
The AHD definition just doesn't go far enough. Here is from ARTFL Webster 1913 Dictionary:
Cor"tex (k?r"t?ks), n.; pl. Cortices (-t-sz). [L., bark. Cf. Cork.]
1. Bark, as of a tree; hence, an outer covering.
2. (Med.) Bark; rind; specifically, cinchona bark.
3. (Anat.) The outer or superficial part of an organ; as, the cortex or gray exterior substance of the brain.
There's an unusual, but mellifluous word pallia I once used in a poem. It is the equivalent of cerebral cortex. It also means some kind of robe worn by Roman officials/dignitaries. In the poem, I saw the cerebral cortex of an oak grove in the exposed, bare winter crowns of the trees, a symbol for the collective minds of the People in disagreement with Heavenly allowance of atrocity. The specific line was:
"The pallia of bare oak crowns locked with the Sky."
What's interesting to me in this thread is to learn that the cortex itself can mean "bark," which I find to be a coincidental connection between the word I chose, pallia, and the bark. But Jung would say the word choice wasn't just coincidental.