Why the Word "Corn"?

Etymology, i.e. the history of words, has always fascinated me.  While engaged in my German studies recently I came across the word, “Korn,” which as an English speaker I falsely assumed meant “corn.”  The German word “Korn” actually translates to “grain” in English.  I was then curious what the English word “corn” translated to in German, which turns out to be “Mais.”  Having taken two years of Spanish in High School and being raised in North America, I instantly recognized the German word “Mais” as deriving from the Spanish word “Maize.”

So, what happened?  In the 18^th century, the English and Germans referred to the many varieties of grain as simply, “corn” (Old English) or “Korn” (German.)  American colonists referred to what we today call corn as “Indian corn” i.e. Indian grain.  Over time, we in the United States eventually dropped the adjective “Indian” and kept the noun “corn."  Meanwhile, our cousins back in England and Germany adopted the Spanish term, “Maize,” which the Spanish had adopted from the Taino, an indigenous Caribbean people.

Wait a minute.  If the word “corn” was the Old English term for “grain,” then where did that word come from?  How was it used?  See my train of thought and how unending and interesting the study of words can be?  OK, perhaps not for you.

But to answer the question, “grain” comes…

Just kidding.