What is the diminutive of corn?

Answer 1

In general, English does not have diminutive forms of words. Diminutives can be formed from some words using suffixes like -let, -ette, -y, or -ie (e.g., drop and droplet, kitchen and kitchenette, duck and ducky, frog and froggie) or the prefix mini- (e.g., skirt and miniskirt or bus and minibus). Most nouns do not have a special diminitive form, and adjectives like little, small, baby, or tiny can be used to convey the idea of smallness (e.g., "little lamb" or "tiny bubbles"), where that is applicable.

The word corn has different meanings. If it refers to a formation on the foot caused by ill-fitting shoes, it would be correct to say a small corn. In America, corn refers to the starchy vegetable also known as maize. Small, immature ears of corn commonly used in Asian cooking are sometimes called baby corn, which suggests both the small size and the stage of development. In other English-speaking countries, corn can refer to other grains, and in these places, other forms indicating smallness might be correct.

The word kernel, which can refer to a whole seed grain of corn, has its origins in Old English as a diminutive of corn (meaning seed), but kernel is not considered a diminutive of corn in modern English.