<B>cordon sanitaire, </B>pl. <B>cordons sanitaires.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a line of guards about an infected district to control communication. <BR> <I>Ex. the cordon sanitaire which was established along the Rhine to prevent the spread of disease by displaced persons (James Phinney Baxter).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=buffer zone.</B> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) any buffer. <BR> <I>Ex. There is and can be no cordon sanitaire against the spread of ideas (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="cordotomy">
<B>cordotomy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> surgical incision into the spinal cord, especially to alleviate severe chronic pain. </DL>
<A NAME="cordovan">
<B>cordovan, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> or having to do with a kind of soft leather originally made at Cordoba, Spain. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a kind of soft, fine-grained leather. <DD><B> 2. </B>a shoe made from this leather. </DL>
<A NAME="cordovan">
<B>Cordovan, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Cordoba, Spain. <DD><I>noun </I> a native or inhabitant of Cordoba. </DL>
<A NAME="cords">
<B>cords, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> See under <B>cord.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="corduroy">
<B>corduroy, </B>noun, adjective, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a thick cotton or rayon cloth with close, velvetlike ridges. <DD><B> 2. </B>a suit or garment made of this. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>made of corduroy. <BR> <I>Ex. a corduroy skirt.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>built of logs laid together crosswise, as a road or bridge. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to build (a road or bridge) of logs laid together crosswise. <DD><B> 2. </B>to cross (a swamp) with a road or bridge so made. <BR><I>expr. <B>corduroys,</B> </I>corduroy trousers. <BR> <I>Ex. nothing but a pair of corduroys between him and the horse's back (Geoffrey Gambado).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="corduroyroad">
<B>corduroy road,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a road made of logs laid crosswise, usually across low, wet land. </DL>
<B>cordwainer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) a shoemaker. </DL>
<A NAME="cordwood">
<B>cordwood, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>wood sold by the cord. <DD><B> 2. </B>firewood piled in cords. <DD><B> 3. </B>wood cut in four-foot lengths. <DD><B> 4. </B>timber or trees suitable only for firewood. </DL>
<A NAME="cordy">
<B>cordy, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or like cord. </DL>
<A NAME="core">
<B>core</B> (1), noun, verb, <B>cored,</B> <B>coring,</B> adj.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the hard, central part, containing the seeds, of fruits like apples and pears. <BR> <I>Ex. After eating the apple he threw the core away.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) the central or most important part. <BR> <I>Ex. the core of an argument. That boy is honest to the core. The Moslem community on the north side of the Tyne is more compact, consisting of a core of some sixty families (Anthony H. Richmond).</I> (SYN) essence, kernel, nucleus. <DD><B> 3. </B>the heart. <BR> <I>Ex. The desertion of his dog had touched him to the core (Edward Bulwer-Lytton).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Electricity.) <DD><B> a. </B>a bar of soft iron, bundle of iron wires, or the like, forming the center of an electromagnet, induction coil, etc., and serving to increase and concentrate the induced magnetic field. <DD><B> b. </B>the conducting wire and its insulation in a subterranean or submarine cable. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Metallurgy.) an inner mold made of sand and other ingredients filling the space to be left hollow in a casting. <DD><B> 6a. </B>the heartwood of a tree. <DD><B> b. </B>the lumber from this wood, usually soft and inexpensive, used as a base for veneers. <DD><B> 7. </B>the central strand of a rope around which other strands are woven. <DD><B> 8. </B>a cylindrical portion of rock or other material extracted from the center of a mass by cutting or drilling. <DD><B> 9. </B>(Chemistry.) the nucleus of an atom and the inner shells of electrons. <DD><B> 10. </B>(Geology.) the central portion of the earth, lying below the mantle. <DD><B> 11. </B>(Physics.) the part of a nuclear reactor containing fissionable material. <DD><B> 12. </B>(Electronics.) a magnetic core. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to take out the core of. <BR> <I>Ex. The cook cored the apples.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> central; basic. <BR> <I>Ex. Deterring such an attack has been the core reason for NATO's existence (Time). The Fed decided the core questions of regulating the money supply (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="core">
<B>core</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a body of people; company. <DD><B> 2. </B>the company of players in a curling match. </DL>
<A NAME="core">
<B>CORE</B> (no periods) or <B>C.O.R.E.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Congress of Racial Equality. </DL>
<A NAME="corecity">
<B>core city,</B> <B>=central city.</B></DL>
<A NAME="corecurriculum">
<B>core curriculum,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a program of studies in which a number of courses are subordinated to and unified by a central subject or theme. </DL>
<A NAME="coredrill">
<B>core-drill, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to drill so as to remove a core intact. </DL>
<B>coreligionist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a follower of the same religion. Also, <B>correligionist.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="coremelt">
<B>core melt,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the melting of the core of a nuclear reactor; meltdown. <BR> <I>Ex. The likelihood of a core melt in any one reactor is only once every 20,000 years (U.S. News & World Report).</I> </DL>
<B>coreopsis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any plant of a group of the composite family, including several species cultivated for their yellow, red-and-yellow, or reddish flowers shaped like daisies; tickseed. <DD><B> 2. </B>the flower. </DL>
<A NAME="corepiece">
<B>corepiece, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a central strand around which other strands are twisted in a hawser-laid rope; core. </DL>
<A NAME="corer">
<B>corer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an instrument for removing the cores from fruit. <DD><B> 2. </B>a core-drilling machine; device for removing cores especially of rock and earth. <BR> <I>Ex. The research vessel Atlantis surveyed the deep-sea bottom [with] a ... corer which takes samples of the sea bed 40 to 60 feet thick (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="coresis">
<B>coresis, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) dark-red, broad, disk-shaped bodies, found beneath the epicarp of grapes. </DL>
<A NAME="corespondency">
<B>corespondency, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of being a corespondent. <DD><B> 2. </B>the state of being a corespondent. </DL>
<A NAME="corespondent">
<B>corespondent, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) a person accused of adultery with a husband or wife who is beingsued for divorce. </DL>
<A NAME="coretool">
<B>core tool,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a paleolithic tool, such as a biface, made by removing splinters or flakes from a lump of stone. </DL>
<A NAME="coretube">
<B>core tube,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a tube inserted into the ground to extract a core of rock or other material. </DL>
<A NAME="corewall">
<B>core wall,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a wall or structure of waterproof material in the interior of a dam, dike, or causeway largely constructed of porous material such as earth or sand. </DL>
<A NAME="corf">
<B>corf, </B>noun, pl. <B>corves.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(British.) <DD><B> a. </B>a tub, truck, or car used in carrying ore or coal or other mineral to the surface of a mine. <DD><B> b. </B>a large, strong basket formerly so used. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) a basket. </DL>
<A NAME="corfam">
<B>Corfam, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Trademark.) a strong, lightweight, porous plastic that resembles leather, used especially in shoe manufacture. </DL>
<A NAME="corfiote">
<B>Corfiote, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a native or inhabitant of the island of Corfu, in the Ionian Islands off the west coast of Greece. </DL>
<A NAME="corgi">
<B>corgi, </B>noun. <B>=Welsh corgi.</B></DL>
<A NAME="coria">
<B>coria, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> plural of <B>corium.</B> </DL>
<B>corial, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (in Guiana) a dugout canoe with pointed ends. </DL>
<A NAME="coriander">
<B>coriander, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an herb of the parsley family, with a disagreeable odor but bearing aromatic fruits. <DD><B> 2. </B>its seedlike fruit. The oil from the seeds is used as flavoring in cooking and candy making and in medicine as a stimulant and carminative. </DL>
<A NAME="corinne">
<B>corinne, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hummingbird with a long, lancelike bill and very brilliant coloration. </DL>
<A NAME="corinthian">
<B>Corinthian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of the Greek city of Corinth or its people. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with the most elaborate style of Greek architecture. The Corinthian column typically has a tall, slender, fluted shaft, a molded base, and a bell-shaped capital adorned with acanthus leaves. <DD><B> 3. </B>ornate; overbrilliant. <BR> <I>Ex. a Corinthian literary style.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>resembling the immoral manners of ancient Corinth; elegant and dissipated. (SYN) profligate. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person born or living in Corinth. <DD><B> 2a. </B>a wealthy sportsman, especially, in the United States, a yachtsman. <DD><B> b. </B>a man of fashion about town. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) a gay, immoral, shameless man. </DL>
<B>Corinthians, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> (sing. in use). either of two books of the New Testament, I Corinthians and II Corinthians, consisting of letters written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians of Corinth. (Abbr:) Cor. </DL>
<A NAME="coriolanus">
<B>Coriolanus, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a historical tragedy by Shakespeare based on the life of Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, a Roman general of the 400's B.C., who was banished from Rome and later led an army of Volscians in an unsuccessful attack on it. </DL>
