What is "kern"

Kern \Kern\, v. i. [Cf. G. kern kernel, grain; akin to E. corn. See Corn, Kernel. ]

1. To harden, as corn in ripening. [Obs.]
   --Carew.

2. To take the form of kernels; to granulate. [Obs.]

   It is observed that rain makes the salt kern.
   --Dampier.

Kern \Kern\, n. [AS. cweorn, cwyrn. See Quern. ] A hand mill. See Quern.
--Johnson.

Kern \Kern\, n. [See Churn. ] A churn. [Prov. Eng.]

Kern \Kern\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Kerned; p. pr. & vb. n. Kerning. ] (Type Founding) To form with a kern. See 2d Kern.

Kern \Kern\, n. (Type Founding) A part of the face of a type which projects beyond the body, or shank, such as in certain italic letters.

Kern \Kern\ (k[~e]rn), n. [Ir. ceatharnach.Cf. Cateran. ]

1. A light-armed foot soldier of the ancient militia of Ireland and Scotland; -- distinguished from gallowglass, and often used as a term of contempt.
   --Macaulay.

   Now for our Irish wars; We must supplant those rough, rug-headed kerns.
   --Shak.

2. Any kind of boor or low-lived person. [Obs.]
   --Blount.

3. (O. Eng. Law) An idler; a vagabond.
   --Wharton.

Kern \Kern\, n. [Written also kirn.] [Cf. D. & G. kern kernal, E. kern to harden, kernel.] [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

1. Kernel; corn; grain.

2. The last handful or sheaf reaped at the harvest.

3. The harvest-home.

1680s, "part of a metal type projecting beyond the body," as the head of an -f- or the tail of a -j-, from French carne "projecting angle, quill of a pen," from Latin cardinem "hinge."

Etymology 1 n. 1 (context obsolete or dialect English) A corn; grain; kernel. 2 (context obsolete or dialect English) The last handful or sheaf reaped at the harvest. 3 (context obsolete or dialect English) The harvest home. Etymology 2

alt. (context hot metal printing typography English) any part of a letter which extends into the space used by another letter. n. (context hot metal printing typography English) any part of a letter which extends into the space used by another letter. vb. (context typography chiefly proportional font printing English) To adjust the horizontal space between selected pairs of letters (characters or glyphs); to perform such adjustments to a portion of text, according to preset rules. Etymology 3

alt. 1 (context archaic or historical English) A light-armed foot soldier of the ancient militia of Ireland and Scotland; ''in archaic contexts often used as a term of contempt''. 2 (context obsolete English) A boor; a low person. 3 (context obsolete UK legal English) An idler; a vagabond. n. 1 (context archaic or historical English) A light-armed foot soldier of the ancient militia of Ireland and Scotland; ''in archaic contexts often used as a term of contempt''. 2 (context obsolete English) A boor; a low person. 3 (context obsolete UK legal English) An idler; a vagabond. Etymology 4

n. (alternative form of quern English) Etymology 5

n. A churn.

KERN (1180 AM) and (96.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a News/talk format. Licensed to Wasco- Greenacres, California, USA, the station serves the Bakersfield, California, area. The station is currently owned by American General Media.

A Kern was a Gaelic soldier, specifically a light infantryman in Ireland during the Middle Ages.

Kern is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Anna Petrovna Kern (1800–1873), Pushkin's mistress
• András Kern (born 1948), Hungarian actor
• Brad Kern, American television producer
• Dorothee Kern (born 1966), German-American biochemist
• Ericca Kern (born 1965), American bodybuilder
• David J. Kern, American naval officer
• Edward Kern (1822–1863), American cartographer and artist
• Jamie Kern (born 1977), American television personality
• Hal C. Kern (1894-1985), American film editor
• Jerome Kern (1885–1945), American composer
• Jim Kern (born 1949), American baseball player
• Joey Kern (born 1976), American actor
• Johan Hendrik Caspar Kern (1833–1917), aka H. Kern, Dutch linguist and Anglo-Indian educator
• John W. Kern (1849–1917), American politician
• John Kern (Canadian politician), former Saskatchewan Green Party leader
• Karl-Hans Kern (1932–2014), German politician
• Kevin Kern (born 1958), American musician
• Marc Kern (ice hockey) (born 1989), Swiss ice hockey player
• Mitch Kern (born 1965), American art photographer
• Nathaniel Kern, American oil industry consultant
• Olga Kern (born 1975), Russian classical pianist
• Otto Kern (1863–1942), German linguist
• Paul J. Kern (born 1945), American army officer and businessman
• Ralph Kern (born 1967), German artistic gymnast
• Richard Kern (born 1954), American photographer and filmmaker
• Robert J. Kern (1885-1972), American film editor
• Sally Kern (born 1946), Oklahoma state legislator
• Sean Kern (born 1978), American water polo player
• Werner Kern (football manager) (born 1946), German football coach
• Marko Kern (born 1948),Croatian painter
• Hermann Armin von Kern (1838–1912), an academic painter, one of the most popular Austrian genre painters of his time and a court painter at the Emperor Franz Josef court in Vienna.
• Benjamin von Kern (1800 L. Mikuláš - 3.12.1868 L. Hrádok), Doctor of medicine. Hermann Armin von Kern's father.