coke

corn crib

A corn crib is a small storage building for holding ears of corn. Common on Southern and Appalachian farms, it was slatted for air flow so the corn could dry without spoiling.

#Appalachia   #OldTimers   #Southern

Pronunciation

[CORN-crib]

Meaning & Usage

- Farm building for corn storage (noun)

On the farm
Mae:
Where’s the feed for the hogs?

Earl:
Still in the corn crib.

- Corn measured by crib (noun, usage)

Talking about harvest
Mae:
Did you get much this year?

Earl:
Bout two cribs of corn.

other spellings: corn house, corn shed, the crib, and crib of corn
★ Corn cribs were built with slats or gaps between boards to let air through. That kept the corn dry for livestock feed and meal. Many stood on stone piers to keep rats out. ★

Origin

From Old English "cribb," meaning manger or rack. By the 1800s, "corn crib" was standard farm talk across the South and Appalachia for a small outbuilding dedicated to corn.

Notes

Corn cribs were once common on every farm. Today they’re rare, mostly remembered by older generations or preserved on historic farmsteads.

Say It Like a Southerner

Said plain: "corn-crib."

Kin Topics

Kin Words, Stories and More

Common Questions

What was a corn crib used for?
To store and dry ears of corn for later use as livestock feed or meal.
Do farms still use corn cribs?
Hardly - most use modern silos and bins.
Why were they slatted?
To allow air to flow through and keep the corn from molding.
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