sandcorn

From Middle English *sandcorn, from Old English sandcorn, from Proto-West Germanic *sandakorn, from Proto-Germanic *samdakurną, equivalent to sand +‎ corn. Cognate with Dutch zandkoren, German Sandkorn, Swedish sandkorn, Icelandic sandkorn.

sandcorn (plural sandcorns)

1. A grain of sand
   • 1857, Oriental Fairy Tales, page 304:

     […] overflowing all with golden splendour, gilding mountains, trees, and grass, making all flowers glow in brilliant colours, throwing bright sparks upon each sandcorn, and causing golden waves to roll in the river of the plain.

2. (by extension, figurative) Anything causing irritation or discomfort.
   • 2006, E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art: Pocket Edition, page 460:

     It was the tradition of image-making which carried in its stream, as it were, those indispensable sandcorns of tasks.

From Proto-West Germanic *sandakorn, *samdakorn, from Proto-Germanic *samdakurną. Equivalent to sand (“sand”) +‎ corn (“grain”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɑndˌkorn/, [ˈsɑndˌkorˠn]

sandcorn n

1. grain of sand

Strong a-stem:

• Middle English: *sandcorn
  • English: sandcorn