4 ms·

What does the -core suffix mean in this context? I get that it is a mix of words, like hardcore, nerdcore, etc.. but why? I figured that was reserved for fringe

by 0des 5y ago

What does the -core suffix mean in this context? I get that it is a mix of words, like hardcore, nerdcore, etc.. but why? I figured that was reserved for fringe extreme genres. Does anybody have any info on this?

boringg 5y ago
I assumed it was moving away from the core of a city to making the cottage the 'new' core. Also like other comment about hardcore maybe being part of the etymology
blakesterz 5y ago
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/what-exactly-is-cottagecore https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/what-exactly-is-co... ": Cottagecore, a movement hearkening back to agricultural life, skills, and crafts, is on the rise. “As a concept, it embraces a simpler, sustainable existence that is more harmonious with nature. Aesthetically, it’s a nod to the traditional English countryside style, romantic and nostalgic,” says Davina Ogilvie, founder of Wovn Home, a start-up that makes custom (but affordable and accessible) window treatments."
levi-turner 5y ago
In hip fashion circles, I've seen it crop up regularly. Dadcore, Normcore and the like. I've always taken it to mean the synthesized essence of an aesthetic, or at least the adherents believe that to be the case.
- sprkwd 5y ago
  Such a commentcore statement.
danmcs 5y ago
Like -punk, it has been suffixed onto other words to essentially mean "genre".
throwanem 5y ago
It reminds me of the "-gate" suffix denoting scandal, originally derived from the name of the Watergate Hotel, his B&E crew's actions at which ultimately brought Richard Nixon low. Wiktionary [1] describes the "-core" suffix as a similar backformation from the musical genre name "hardcore", and as with "-gate", it seems to have developed into a general-purpose inflection denoting a genre or subculture - to the extent, I suppose, that those two concepts can any longer be distinguished from one another, at least. [1] https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/-core https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/-core
eli 5y ago
https://ask.metafilter.com/282658/What-is-the-meaning-of-the-core-suffix https://ask.metafilter.com/282658/What-is-the-meaning-of-the...
pdabbadabba 5y ago
I don't consider myself an authority on this, but I take it to be a gentle bit of comedic irony, used to describe aesthetics that are generally the opposite what people associate with "hardcore," the best known earlier use of the suffix. Compare hardcore with, for example, prairiecore, cottagecore, dadcore, nerdcore. All of these terms describe an aesthetic that references the stereotyped essence of a way of life. But these new uses reference a way of life typically stereotyped to be approximately the opposite of "hardcore." All of them put a little smile on my face, but prairiecore is my favorite: https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Prairiecore https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Prairiecore Edit: Language is fun. There are eight replies to the parent comment so far, and almost as many interpretations of "core," with different connotations. We're all sitting here understanding the word "cottagecore" perfectly well, but having subtlety--yet importantly--different subjective experiences while doing so.
- OldHand2018 5y ago
  I greatly appreciate that very educational link. I must take exception though, as the American tallgrass prairie looks nothing like that photo. Checking wikipedia, that would be pretty indicative of perhaps the very thin shortgrass prairie from pretty far west (Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico) where the cowboy lifestyle was prevalent? Tallgrass prairie is gorgeous and very colorful.
- SauciestGNU 5y ago
  The aesthetics wiki needs a warning the same way tvtropes does, I can spend hours going down rabbit holes there.
zamadatix 5y ago
I've always taken it as meaning/being related to the primary literal meaning of core: "a central and often foundational part usually distinct from the enveloping part by a difference in nature" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/core https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/core I.e. a <prefix>core person is one whose central foundational part is based on <prefix>. Material related to <prefix>core is from/for/focused on that type of identity.
kuhewa 5y ago
I think the cottagecore aesthetic grew out of representation in anime and Tumblr reposts, along with other less-practical/mundane aesthetics like goblincore. Rather than an actual back-to-the-land movement. With the pandemic it became sort of mainstream and synonymous for a desired or actual lifestyle and not just fashion and aesthetic sensibility, which is why the core suffix seems out of place.
ashleyn 5y ago
-core suffix, at its most brief, indicates an aesthetic of some type. In this case, "cottagecore" is a rural, traditional, "Little House on the Prarie" aesthetic. There's an entire wiki of -cores: https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Cottagecore https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Cottagecore
throwaway889900 5y ago
Seems like the terminology for this sort of stuff is libfix [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libfix https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libfix

by 0des 5y ago

boringg 5y ago

I assumed it was moving away from the core of a city to making the cottage the 'new' core. Also like other comment about hardcore maybe being part of the etymology

blakesterz 5y ago

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/what-exactly-is-cottagecore https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/what-exactly-is-co... ": Cottagecore, a movement hearkening back to agricultural life, skills, and crafts, is on the rise. “As a concept, it embraces a simpler, sustainable existence that is more harmonious with nature. Aesthetically, it’s a nod to the traditional English countryside style, romantic and nostalgic,” says Davina Ogilvie, founder of Wovn Home, a start-up that makes custom (but affordable and accessible) window treatments."

levi-turner 5y ago

In hip fashion circles, I've seen it crop up regularly. Dadcore, Normcore and the like. I've always taken it to mean the synthesized essence of an aesthetic, or at least the adherents believe that to be the case.

sprkwd 5y ago
Such a commentcore statement.

danmcs 5y ago

Like -punk, it has been suffixed onto other words to essentially mean "genre".

throwanem 5y ago

It reminds me of the "-gate" suffix denoting scandal, originally derived from the name of the Watergate Hotel, his B&E crew's actions at which ultimately brought Richard Nixon low. Wiktionary [1] describes the "-core" suffix as a similar backformation from the musical genre name "hardcore", and as with "-gate", it seems to have developed into a general-purpose inflection denoting a genre or subculture - to the extent, I suppose, that those two concepts can any longer be distinguished from one another, at least. [1] https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/-core https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/-core

eli 5y ago

https://ask.metafilter.com/282658/What-is-the-meaning-of-the-core-suffix https://ask.metafilter.com/282658/What-is-the-meaning-of-the...

pdabbadabba 5y ago

I don't consider myself an authority on this, but I take it to be a gentle bit of comedic irony, used to describe aesthetics that are generally the opposite what people associate with "hardcore," the best known earlier use of the suffix. Compare hardcore with, for example, prairiecore, cottagecore, dadcore, nerdcore. All of these terms describe an aesthetic that references the stereotyped essence of a way of life. But these new uses reference a way of life typically stereotyped to be approximately the opposite of "hardcore." All of them put a little smile on my face, but prairiecore is my favorite: https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Prairiecore https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Prairiecore Edit: Language is fun. There are eight replies to the parent comment so far, and almost as many interpretations of "core," with different connotations. We're all sitting here understanding the word "cottagecore" perfectly well, but having subtlety--yet importantly--different subjective experiences while doing so.

OldHand2018 5y ago
I greatly appreciate that very educational link. I must take exception though, as the American tallgrass prairie looks nothing like that photo. Checking wikipedia, that would be pretty indicative of perhaps the very thin shortgrass prairie from pretty far west (Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico) where the cowboy lifestyle was prevalent? Tallgrass prairie is gorgeous and very colorful.
SauciestGNU 5y ago
The aesthetics wiki needs a warning the same way tvtropes does, I can spend hours going down rabbit holes there.

zamadatix 5y ago

I've always taken it as meaning/being related to the primary literal meaning of core: "a central and often foundational part usually distinct from the enveloping part by a difference in nature" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/core https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/core I.e. a <prefix>core person is one whose central foundational part is based on <prefix>. Material related to <prefix>core is from/for/focused on that type of identity.

kuhewa 5y ago

I think the cottagecore aesthetic grew out of representation in anime and Tumblr reposts, along with other less-practical/mundane aesthetics like goblincore. Rather than an actual back-to-the-land movement. With the pandemic it became sort of mainstream and synonymous for a desired or actual lifestyle and not just fashion and aesthetic sensibility, which is why the core suffix seems out of place.

ashleyn 5y ago

-core suffix, at its most brief, indicates an aesthetic of some type. In this case, "cottagecore" is a rural, traditional, "Little House on the Prarie" aesthetic. There's an entire wiki of -cores: https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Cottagecore https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Cottagecore

throwaway889900 5y ago

Seems like the terminology for this sort of stuff is libfix [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libfix https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libfix