kern

Kern is a term with multiple uses across geography, onomastics, and language. In the United States, Kern County is a large agricultural and oil-producing region in California’s southern Central Valley, with Bakersfield as its county seat. The Kern River is a notable watercourse associated with the county and the Sierra Nevada, running through the Kern River Canyon toward the San Joaquin Valley.

Kern is also a surname of German origin, meaning core or kernel. It is borne by many people, including Jerome Kern (1885–1945), an American composer whose work helped shape early 20th-century American musical theater, notably Show Boat and standards such as The Way You Look Tonight.

In language and typography, kern has several senses. In German, kern means core or nucleus and appears in compounds such as Kernkraftwerk (nuclear power plant). In English typography, to kern means to adjust the spacing between two characters to achieve visually balanced text; the noun form kerning describes this spacing practice.

In computing, the term kernel refers to the central component of an operating system that manages resources and hardware. In German and other languages, the cognate Kern is used in broader contexts to denote a central or essential part.