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Original · left

Core (center)

The central seed-bearing fibrous interior of an apple, or Earth's molten nickel-iron center.

First in use: ancient / pre-modern
Duplicate · right

Core (CPU)

An independent physical computational engine inside a CPU capable of reading and executing thread instructions.

First in use: c. 2005

Core / Core (center) / Core (CPU)

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Duplicate share · 12 mo—
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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Apple cores and Earth's core vs. CPU cores.

Which meaning of Core is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Core (center) came first (ancient / pre-modern). Core (CPU) arrived in 2005. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Core (center)Core (CPU)
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · ancient / pre-modern

Core (center)

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Duplicate · c. 2005

Core (CPU)

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More duplicated terms

Hardware & devices