kernel
n. countablen. the small, hard part inside a seed or nut. It can also mean the most important central part of an idea or a computer system.
n. the inner part of a nut or seed-bearing fruit; figuratively, the essential core of a concept or the central component of a computer operating system.
The squirrel ate the soft kernel inside the nut.
There was a kernel of truth in his story, even though most of it was made up.
The operating system's kernel manages the communication between the software applications and the hardware, ensuring that system resources are allocated efficiently and securely.
From Middle English kernel, kirnel, kürnel, from Old English cyrnel, from Proto-West Germanic kurnil, diminutive of Proto-Germanic kurną (“seed, grain, corn”), equivalent to corn + -le. Cognate with Yiddish קערנדל (kerndl), Middle Dutch kernel, cornel, Middle High German kornel. Related also to Old Norse kjarni (“kernel”).
Countable in both its botanical and figurative senses; often used in the phrase 'a kernel of' followed by an abstract noun like 'truth' or 'doubt'.