[1] Some authors, following Caius, derive the word from _corvus
vorans_ and spell it corvorant, but doubtless wrongly.
[2] So spelt since the days of Gesner; but possibly _Phalaracorax_
would be more correct.
[3] According to Willoughby it was formerly the custom to carry the
cormorant hooded till it was required; in modern practice the bearer
wears a face-mask to protect himself from its beak.
CORN (a common Teutonic word; cf. Lat. _granum_, seed, grain),
originally meaning a small hard particle or grain, as of sand, salt,
gunpowder, &c. It thus came to be applied to the small hard seed of a
plant, as still used in the words barley-corn and pepper-corn. In
agriculture it is generally applied to the seed of the cereal plants. It
is often locally understood to mean that kind of cereal which is the
leading crop of the district; thus in England it refers to wheat, in
Scotland and Ireland to oats, and in the United States to maize (Indian
corn). See GRAIN TRADE; CORN LAWS; AGRICULTURE; WHEAT; MAIZE; &c.
The term "corned" is given to a preparation of meat (especially beef) on
account of the original manner of preserving it by the use of salt in
grains or "corns."
CORN (from Lat. _cornu_, horn), in pathology (technically _clavus_), a
localized outgrowth of the epidermic layer of the skin, most commonly of
the toe, with a central ingrowth of a hard horny plug. The underlying
papillae are atrophied, causing a cup-shaped hollow, whilst the
surrounding papillae are hyper-trophied. The condition is mainly caused
by badly fitting boots, though any undue pressure, of insufficient power
to give rise to ulceration, may be the cause of a corn. Corns may be
hard or soft. The hard corn usually occurs on one of the toes, is a more
or less conical swelling and may be extremely painful at times. If
suppuration occurs around the corn, it is apt to burrow, and if
unattended to may give rise to arthritis or even necrosis. The best
treatment is to soften the corn with hot water, pare it very carefully
with a sharp knife, and then paint it with a solution of salicylic acid
in collodion. The painting must be repeated three times a day for a week
or ten days. The soft corn occurs between the toes and is usually a more
painful condition. Owing to the absorption of sweat its surface may
become white and sodden in appearance. The treatment is much the same,
but spirits of camphor should be painted on each night, and a layer of
cotton wool placed between the toes during the daytime.
CORNARO, CATERINA (1454-1510), queen of Cyprus, was the daughter of
Marco Cornaro, a Venetian noble, whose brother Andrea was an intimate
friend of James de Lusignan, natural son of King John II. of Cyprus. In
the king's death in 1458 the succession was disputed, and James, with
the help of the sultan of Egypt, seized the island. But several powers
were arrayed against him--the duke of Savoy, who claimed the island on
the strength of the marriage of his son Louis to Charlotte, the only
legitimate daughter of John II.,[1] the Genoese, and the pope. It was
important that he should make a marriage such as would secure him
powerful support. Andrea Cornaro suggested his niece Caterina, famed for
her beauty, as that union would bring him Venetian help. The proposal
was agreed to, and approved of by Caterina herself and the senate, and
the contract was signed in 1468. But further intrigues caused delay, and
it was not until 1471 that James's hesitations were overcome. Caterina
was solemnly adopted by the doge as a "daughter of the Republic" and
sailed for Cyprus in 1472 with the title of queen of Cyprus, Jerusalem
and Armenia. But she only enjoyed one year of happiness, for in 1473 her
husband died of fever, leaving his kingdom to his queen and their child
as yet unborn. Enemies and rival claimants arose on all sides, for
Cyprus was a tempting bait. In August the child James III. was born, but
as soon as the Venetian fleet sailed away a plot to depose him in favour
of Zarla, James's illegitimate daughter, broke out, and Caterina was
kept a prisoner. The Venetians returned, and order was soon restored,
but the republic was meditating the seizure of Cyprus, although it had
no valid title whatever, and after the death of Caterina's child in 1474
it was Venice which really governed the island. The poor queen was
surrounded by intrigues and plots, and although the people of the coast
towns loved her, the Cypriot nobles were her bitter enemies and hostile
to Venetian influence. In 1488 the republic, fearing that Sultan Bayezid
II. intended to attack Cyprus, and having also discovered a plot to
marry Caterina to King Alphonso II. of Naples, a proposal to which she
seemed not averse, decided to recall the queen to Venice and formally
annex the island. Caterina at first refused, for she clung to her
royalty, but Venice was a severe parent to its adopted daughter and
would not be gainsaid; she was forced to abdicate in favour of the
republic, and returned to Venice in 1489. The government conferred on
her the castle and town of Asolo for life, and there in the midst of a
learned and brilliant little court, of which Cardinal Bembo (q.v.) was a
shining light, she spent the rest of her days in idyllic peace. She died
in July 1510. Titian's famous portrait of her is in the Uffizi gallery
in Florence.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--A. Centelli, _Caterina Cornaro e il suo regno_ (Venice,
1892); S. Romanin, _Storia documentata di Venezia_, vol. iv. (Venice,
1855), and his _Lezioni di storia Veneta_ (Florence, 1875); L. de Mas
Latrie, _Histoire de l'ile de Chypre_ (Paris, 1852-1861); and Horatio
Brown's essay in his _Studies in Venetian History_ (London, 1907),
which gives the best sketch of the queen's career and a list of
authorities. (L. V.*)