Dictionary

cortex en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈkɔːtɛks/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈkɔɹtɛks/ (General-American)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kert- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kort-ek-sder. Latin cortexbor. English cortex Borrowed from Latin cortex (“cork, bark”).

Meanings

1. (countable) The outer layer of an internal organ or body structure, such as the kidney or the brain.
   • In the study, led by Ryota Kanai of the University College London, people who identified themselves as liberals generally had a larger anterior cingulate cortex — a comma-shaped region near the front of the brain that is involved in decision-making. By contrast, those who identified as conservatives had larger amygdalas — almond-shaped structures that are linked with emotional learning and the processing of fear. 2011 April 8, Amie Ninh, “Liberal vs. Conservative: Does the Difference Lie in the Brain?”, in TIME, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2025:
2. (uncountable) The tissue of a stem or root that lies inward from the epidermis, but exterior to the vascular tissue.
3. (countable, uncountable) The outer surface of a piece of flint.

Forms

Coordinates

bark · cork

Deriveds

exocortex · subcortex · retinex · hemicortex · cortexless · epicortex · precortex · endocortex · proopiomelanocortic · cortico- · cerebrocortex · koniocortex · paracortex · cortical · striate cortex

Hyponyms

cerebellar cortex · insular cortex · cytocortex · orbitofrontal cortex · adrenal cortex · renal cortex · entorhinal cortex · isocortex · archicortex · neocortex · cerebral cortex · mesocortex · paleocortex · allocortex · anterior cingulate cortex · motor cortex · paracingulate cortex · prefrontal cortex · somatosensory cortex · cingulate cortex · somatic sensory cortex · visual cortex

Translations (33)

ba ҡабыҡ (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · cy gwisg (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · pt córtex (tissue of a stem or root) · cy breithell (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · hu kéreg (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · hu kéreg (tissue of a stem or root) · tl luknap (tissue of a stem or root) · kmr tûkil (tissue of a stem or root) · ko 피질 (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · nn bork (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · ca còrtex (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · ru кора (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · fi kuori (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · la cortex (tissue of a stem or root) · de Kortex (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · ga coirtéis (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · nb bark (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · bg кора (tissue of a stem or root) · pl kora (tissue of a stem or root) · cs kůra (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · bg ципа (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · io kortico (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · km សំបក (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · pt córtex (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · fr cortex (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · el φλοιός (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · kmr tûkil (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · th เปลือก (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · fr cortex (tissue of a stem or root) · cmn 皮质 (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · pl kora (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · de Rinde (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure) · de Cortex (outer layer of an internal organ or body structure)