Corned Beef

I understand the origin of this term to be referring to the rock salt used in the brine and such. The rocks were referred to as similar to kernels of corn. This makes the name a New World type of thing, at least as currently named. Seems the ingredients and techniques are all fairly old and likely to have been around a long time.

Any one know if it had a name before corned beef and when the new appellation came into use?

Phil