Horn
Pronunciation
- UK enPR: hôn, IPA: /hÉ”Ën/
- US enPR: hôrn, IPA: /hɔɹn/
- Rhymes: -É”Ë(r)n
Origin
From Middle English horn, horne, from Old English horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurnÄ… (compare West Frisian hoarn, Dutch hoorn, Low German Hoorn, horn, German Horn, Danish and Swedish horn, Gothic ðŒ·ðŒ°ðŒ¿ð‚ðŒ½), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-, (compare Breton kern ("horn"), Latin cornÅ«, Ancient Greek κÎÏας, Old Church Slavonic Ñръна (srÅna, "roedeer"), Hittite (surna, "horn"), Persian sur, Sanskrit शृङà¥à¤— (ṡṛṅga, "horn")).
Full definition of horn
Noun
horn
(countable and uncountable; plural horns)- (countable) A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
- Any similar real or imaginary growth or projection such as the elongated tusk of a narwhal, the eyestalk of a snail, the pointed growth on the nose of a rhinoceros, or the hornlike projection on the head of a demon or similar.
- An antler.
- (uncountable) The hard substance from which animals' horns are made, sometimes used by man as a material for making various objects.an umbrella with a handle made of horn
- An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia, the point of an anvil, or a vessel for gunpowder or liquid.
- ThomsonThe moon
Wears a wan circle round her blunted horns. - Masonhorns of mead and ale
- The high pommel of a saddle; also, either of the projections on a lady's saddle for supporting the leg.
- (architecture) The Ionic volute.
- (nautical) The outer end of a crosstree; also, one of the projections forming the jaws of a gaff, boom, etc.
- (carpentry) A curved projection on the fore part of a plane.
- One of the projections at the four corners of the Jewish altar of burnt offering.
- Bible, 1 Kings ii. 28Joab ... caught hold on the horns of the altar
- (countable) Any of several musical wind instruments.
- (countable) An instrument resembling a musical horn and used to signal others.hunting horn
- (countable) A loud alarm, especially one on a motor vehicle.
- (countable) A conical device used to direct waves.antenna hornloudspeaker horn
- (informal, countable) Generally, any brass wind instrument.
- (slang, countable, from the horn-shaped earpieces of old communication systems that used air tubes) A telephone.
- (uncountable, coarse, slang, definite article) An erection of the penis.
- (countable) A peninsula or crescent-shaped tract of land. "to navigate around the horn."
- (countable) A diacritical mark that may be attached to the top right corner of the letters o and u when writing in Vietnamese, thus forming Æ¡ and Æ°.
- (botany) An incurved, tapering and pointed appendage found in the flowers of the milkweed (Asclepias).
Usage notes
When used alone to refer to an instrument, horn can mean either "hunting horn" or "French horn", depending on context. Other instruments are identified by specific adjectives such as "English horn" or "basset horn".
Synonyms
- (growth on the heads of certain animals)
- (hard substance from which horns are made) keratin
- (any of several musical wind instruments)
- (instrument used to signal others)
- (loud alarm, especially on a motor vehicle) hooter, klaxon
- (conical device used to direct waves) funnel
- (informal: generally, any brass wind instrument)
- (slang: telephone) blower (UK), dog and bone (Cockney rhyming slang), phone
- (coarse slang: erection) boner (US), hard-on, stiffy