Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Core \Core\, n. (Elec.)
   A mass of iron, usually made of thin plates, upon which the
   conductor of an armature or of a transformer is wound.

Core \Core\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cord} (k?rd); p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Coring}.]
   1. To take out the core or inward parts of; as, to core an
      apple.

            He's likee a corn upon my great toe . . . he must be
            cored out.                            --Marston.

   2. To form by means of a core, as a hole in a casting.

Core \Core\, n. [Cf. {Chore}.] (Mining.)
   A miner's underground working time or shift. --Raymond.

   Note: The twenty-four hours are divided into three or four
         cores.

Core \Core\, n. [Heb. k[=o]r: cf. Gr. ko`ros.]
   A Hebrew dry measure; a cor or homer. --Num. xi. 32 (Douay
   version).

Core \Core\, n. [OF. cor, coer, cuer, F. c[oe]ur, fr. L. cor
   heart. See {Heart}.]
   1. The heart or inner part of a thing, as of a column, wall,
      rope, of a boil, etc.; especially, the central part of
      fruit, containing the kernels or seeds; as, the core of an
      apple or quince.

            A fever at the core, Fatal to him who bears, to all
            who ever bore.                        --Byron.

   2. The center or inner part, as of an open space; as, the
      core of a square. [Obs.] --Sir W. Raleigh.

   3. The most important part of a thing; the essence; as, the
      core of a subject.

   4. (Founding) The prtion of a mold which shapes the interior
      of a cylinder, tube, or other hollow casting, or which
      makes a hole in or through a casting; a part of the mold,
      made separate from and inserted in it, for shaping some
      part of the casting, the form of which is not determined
      by that of the pattern.

   5. A disorder of sheep occasioned by worms in the liver.
      [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.

   6. (Anat.) The bony process which forms the central axis of
      the horns in many animals.

   {Core box} (Founding), a box or mold, usually divisible, in
      which cores are molded.

   {Core print} (Founding), a projecting piece on a pattern
      which forms, in the mold, an impression for holding in
      place or steadying a core.

Core \Core\ (k[=o]r), n. [F. corps. See {Corps}.]
   A body of individuals; an assemblage. [Obs.]

         He was in a core of people.              --Bacon.

Source : WordNet®

core
     n 1: the center of an object; "the ball has a titanium core"
     2: a small group of indispensable persons or things; "five
        periodicals make up the core of their publishing program"
        [syn: {nucleus}, {core group}]
     3: the central part of the Earth
     4: the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some
        idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's
        argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party";
        "the nub of the story" [syn: {kernel}, {substance}, {center},
         {essence}, {gist}, {heart}, {heart and soul}, {inwardness},
         {marrow}, {meat}, {nub}, {pith}, {sum}, {nitty-gritty}]
     5: a cylindrical sample of soil or rock obtained with a hollow
        drill
     6: an organization founded by James Leonard Farmer in 1942 to
        work for racial equality [syn: {Congress of Racial
        Equality}]
     7: the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work
        [syn: {effect}, {essence}, {burden}, {gist}]
     8: the chamber of a nuclear reactor containing the fissile
        material where the reaction takes place
     9: a bar of magnetic material (as soft iron) that passes
        through a coil and serves to increase the inductance of
        the coil

core
     v : remove the core or center from; "core an apple"

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

core
     
        1.  {Main memory} or {RAM}.  This term dates from the
        days of {ferrite core memory}; now archaic most places outside
        {IBM}, but also still used in the {Unix} community and by
        old-time {hackers} or those who would sound like them.
     
        Some derived idioms are quite current; "in core", for example,
        means "in memory" ({paged in}, as opposed to "on disk", {paged
        out}), and both {core dump} and the "core image" or "core
        file" produced by one are terms in favour.  Some varieties of
        Commonwealth hackish prefer {store}.
     
        [{Jargon File}]
     
        (1995-03-03)
     
        2.  An {integrated circuit} design, usually for a
        {microprocessor}, which includes only the {CPU} and which is
        intended to form part of a complete circuit design which
        incorporates other circuits on the same chip such as {cache},
        {memory management unit}, I/O ports and timers.
     
        The {ARM6}, {ARM7} and {ARM8} are examples.
     
        3.  A varient on {kernel} as used to describe
        features built into a language as opposed to those provided by
        {libraries}.
     
        (1995-03-03)