cornel Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a tree of shrub of the genus Cornus often having showy bracts resembling flowers
    dogwood tree; dogwood.

WordNet

Cor"nel noun
Etymology
OF. cornille, cornoille, F. cornouille, cornel berry, LL. cornolium cornel tree, fr. L. cornus, fr. cornu horn, in allusion to the hardness of the wood. See Horn.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) The cornelian cherry (Cornus Mas), a European shrub with clusters of small, greenish flowers, followed by very acid but edible drupes resembling cherries.
  2. Any species of the genus Cornus, as C. florida, the flowering cornel; C. stolonifera, the osier cornel; C. Canadensis, the dwarf cornel, or bunchberry.

Webster 1913