† ycoreadj.
Obsolete.
Chosen (frequently as past participle); elect; ‘choice’, fair, comely (cf. the uses of choose v.); hence in Middle English used as a meaningless tag often rhyming with before; absol. elect one, the elect.
ΘΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] > choice or excellent
chisa700
ycorec900
trya1300
walea1325
richc1330
choice1340
tried1362
chief1519
select1590
selected1605
recherché1689
tid1727
pick1790
selectable1836
beauty1895
plum1923
shit-kicking1961
c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. ii. xviii Honorius..to bisceope gecoren wæs.
OE Cynewulf Juliana 299 He sacan ongon wiþ þa gecorenan Cristes þegnas, ond þa halgan weras hospe gerahte.
OE Beowulf 206 Hæfde se goda..cempan gecorone.
OE Genesis 1818 Abraham..drihtne gecoren.
c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) cxxxi. 18 [cxxxii. 17] Ic..fægre gearuwe byrnende blac-ern bere for minum criste gecorenum [L. christo meo].
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 45 Nu ic þe bidde for þine kinedome..and for alle þine haleȝen and ec þine icorene.
a1200 Moral Ode 104 Hwi boð fole iclepede and swa lut icorene.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 167 Hwat is þis þe astihȝð alse dai rieme, fair alse mone, icoren [L. electa, Song of Songs vi. 10] alse sunne?
c1300 Harrow. Hell (L.) 244 Let vs neuer be forloren for no sunne, crist ycoren.
c1330 Amis & Amil. 579 Of wel heighe kin y-corn.
c1330 King of Tars 544 [The child] as a roonde of flesche icore In chaumbre lay hire bifore, Withouten blod or bon.
1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 978 Þe kiddeste y-core þat corone weldus!
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 766 Charlis kyng þe beste knyȝt y-core þat is owar now lyuyng.
a1400 Coer de L. 146 With a coron off gold i-corn.
c1420 Chron. Vilod. 789 Edgar..To þe kyndam of Englonde was y-core.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.c900