horn
English
Etymology
From Middle English horn, horne, from Old English horn, from Proto-West Germanic *horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurną. Compare West Frisian hoarn, Dutch hoorn, Low German Hoorn, horn, German Horn, Danish and Swedish horn, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂-nó-m, from *ḱerh₂- (“head, horn”). Compare Breton kern (“horn”), Latin cornū, Ancient Greek κέρας (kéras), Proto-Slavic *sьrna, Old Church Slavonic сьрна (sĭrna, “roedeer”), Hittite [script needed] (surna, “horn”), Persian سر (sar), Sanskrit शृङ्ग (śṛṅga, “horn”).
(telephone): From the horn-shaped earpieces of old communication systems that used air tubes.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: hôn, IPA(key): /hɔːn/
Audio (UK): (file) - (US) enPR: hôrn, IPA(key): /hɔɹn/
Audio (US): (file) Audio: (file) - (Dublin, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /ˈhɒːɹn/
- (DE) IPA(key): /ˈhoːrn/, /ˈhoːɻn/
- Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)n
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.
- Synonym: keratin
- an umbrella with a handle made of horn
- A vessel made from a horn, to contain drink, ink, gunpowder, etc.
- 1775, William Mason, The Poems of Mr. Gray. To which are prefixed Memoirs of his Life and Writings by W. Mason.:
- horns of mead and ale
- 2017, Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 143:
- I guarantee you a mighty feast, horns of ale, and afterwards wrestling and racing and contests of strength.
- An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.
- One of the two corners of a crescent, particularly of the crescent moon
- a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Winter”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC, page 169, lines 123–125:
- [W]hile riſing ſlow, / Blank, in the leaden-colour'd eaſt, the moon / Wears a wan circle round her blunted horns.
- 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.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 2:28:
- Joab […] caught hold on the horns of the altar
- One of the two corners of a crescent, particularly of the crescent moon
- (countable) Any of several musical wind instruments.
- (countable, music) An instrument resembling a musical horn and used to signal others.
- hunting horn
- (countable, automotive) A loud alarm, especially one on a motor vehicle.
- (chiefly sports) A sound signaling the expiration of time.
- The shot was after the horn and therefore did not count.
- (countable) A conical device used to direct waves.
- Synonym: funnel
- antenna horn
- loudspeaker horn
- (informal, music, countable) Generally, any brass wind instrument.
- (slang, countable) A telephone.
- Synonyms: blower (UK), dog and bone (Cockney rhyming slang), phone
- Get him on the horn so that we can have a discussion about this.
- (vulgar, slang, with definite article) An erection of the penis.
- (countable, geography) A peninsula or projecting tract of land.
- Synonym: peninsula
- to navigate around the horn
- 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
- But nowhere are there queerer waters than in our own parish of Caulds, at the place called the Sker Bay, where between two horns of land a shallow estuary receives the stream of the Sker.
- (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 ơ and ư.
- (botany) An incurved, tapering and pointed appendage found in the flowers of the milkweed (Asclepias).
- (military) In naval mine warfare, a projection from the mine shell of some contact mines which, when broken or bent by contact, causes the mine to fire.
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.
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
horn (third-person singular simple present horns, present participle horning, simple past and past participle horned)
- (transitive, of an animal) To assault with the horns.
- (transitive) To furnish with horns.
- (transitive, slang, obsolete) To cuckold.
Derived terms
- acoustic horn
- air horn, airhorn
- Alpine horn
- alto horn
- Amalthea's horn
- Ammon's horn
- around the horn
- baritone horn
- basset horn
- bass horn
- bastard horn snake
- behorn
- bighorn
- Big Horn County
- blowhorn
- blow horn
- blow-horn
- blow one's horn
- blow one's own horn
- buckhorn
- buck's-horn
- buck's horn plantain
- bull-horn
- bullhorn
- bull horn
- butterhorn
- chemical horn
- chrome horn
- coach horn
- collery horn
- cream horn
- deerhorn
- deer horn knife
- dehorn
- demihorn
- dishorn
- Dorset Horn
- drinking horn
- drinking-horn
- earhorn
- elkhorn
- English horn
- feed-horn
- feed horn
- feedhorn
- fire alarm horn
- fish horn
- fish-horn
- flowerhorn
- fog horn
- foghorn
- fog-horn
- French horn
- Golden Horn
- grunt-horn
- hartshorn
- horn angle
- horn antenna
- hornbag
- hornball
- hornbeak
- hornbeam
- horn-bearing
- hornbill
- Hornblower
- hornblower
- hornbook
- hornbug
- horn coral
- horncore
- horn dog
- horn-dog
- horn drum
- horned
- horner
- horn fly
- hornfoot
- hornful
- hornguide, horn guide
- horn-helmeted
- hornification
- horn in
- hornish
- hornist
- hornless
- hornlet
- hornlike
- horn-mad
- horn mercury
- Horn of Africa
- horn of Amalthea
- horn of plenty
- horn out
- hornowl
- hornpike
- hornpipe
- horn pipe
- horn piper
- horn-piper
- hornpout
- hornpox
- horn-rimmed
- hornrims
- horn-rims
- horns and halo effect
- horn shark
- horn silver
- horn slate
- hornsman
- hornsnake
- hornstone
- horntail
- horn timber
- horn tipper
- horn violin
- horn-violin
- hornwork
- hornworm
- hornwort
- hornwrack
- horny
- hunting-horn
- iliac horn syndrome
- inkhorn
- lock horns
- longhorn
- longhorned
- melodyhorn
- nanohorn
- obtuse horn shell
- occipital horn syndrome
- off the horn
- on the horn
- on the horns of a dilemma
- oxhorn
- party horn
- paste-horn
- Pinard horn
- plenty's horn
- post-horn
- post horn, posthorn
- powder horn
- powderhorn
- pronghorn
- pull in one's horns
- put to the horn
- raghorn
- ramshorn
- ram's horn squid
- remote horn
- saddlehorn
- saddle horn
- saxhorn
- shoehorn
- shoe-horn
- shoeing-horn
- shorthorn
- slug-horn
- snuff-horn
- spikehorn
- staghorn
- stag's-horn clubmoss
- stinkhorn
- straighthorn
- switch horn
- take a horn
- take the bull by the horns
- tenor horn
- tinhorn
- tin-horn
- toot one's own horn
- uterine horn
- Vienna horn
- Viennese horn
- Vladimir horn
- war-horn
- war horn
- yellowhorn
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology
From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.
Pronunciation
Noun
horn n (singular definite hornet, plural indefinite horn)
Inflection
References
- “horn” in Den Danske Ordbog
Faroese
Etymology
From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.
Pronunciation
Noun
horn n (genitive singular horns, plural horn)
Declension
Declension of horn | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
n3 | singular | plural | ||
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | horn | hornið | horn | hornini |
accusative | horn | hornið | horn | hornini |
dative | horni | horninum | hornum | hornunum |
genitive | horns | hornsins | horna | hornanna |
Icelandic
Etymology
From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.
Pronunciation
Noun
horn n (genitive singular horns, nominative plural horn)
Declension
Declension of horn | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
n-s | singular | plural | ||
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | horn | hornið | horn | hornin |
accusative | horn | hornið | horn | hornin |
dative | horni | horninu | hornum | hornunum |
genitive | horns | hornsins | horna | hornanna |
Derived terms
- hornafleiða
- hornamál
- hornfjarlægð
- horngráða
- hornhraði m (“angular velocity”)
- hornhröðun
- hornmál
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old English horn, from Proto-West Germanic *horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂nós (with change in gender).
Pronunciation
Noun
horn (plural hornes)
- A horn (keratinous growth):
- A projecting extremity or point:
- A horn (musical instrument)
- A bodily extension, such as a claw.
- A horn-shaped container (especially as a glass)
- (rare) A section of an army or band.
- (rare) The eyestalk of a gastropod or an analogous projection.
- (rare, collectively) Horned bovids.
Related terms
Descendants
References
- “horn, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-12-08.
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.
Pronunciation
Noun
horn n (definite singular hornet, indefinite plural horn, definite plural horna or hornene)
- (zoology) horn
- (music) horn
- (automotive, rail transport) horn (warning device)
Derived terms
References
- “horn” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.
Pronunciation
Noun
horn n (definite singular hornet, indefinite plural horn, definite plural horna)
- (zoology) horn
- (music) horn
- (automotive, rail transport) horn (warning device)
Derived terms
References
- “horn” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“horn, head, top”).
Cognate with Old Frisian horn, Old Saxon horn, Old High German horn, Old Norse horn, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).
Pronunciation
Noun
horn m
Declension
Derived terms
Descendants
Old High German
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.
Cognates include also Old Saxon horn, Old English horn, Old Norse horn, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).
Noun
horn n
Descendants
- Middle High German: horn
Old Norse
Etymology
From Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- or Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-. Cognates include Old English horn (English horn, Old Frisian horn (West Frisian hoarn), Old Saxon horn (Low German Hoorn, horn), Dutch hoorn, Old High German horn (German Horn), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).
Noun
horn n (genitive horns, plural horn)
Declension
Descendants
- Icelandic: horn
- Faroese: horn
- Norn: honnj
- Norwegian Nynorsk: horn, (dialectal) hønn
- Norwegian Bokmål: horn
- Old Swedish: horn
- Swedish: horn
- Danish: horn
References
- “horn”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.
Cognates include also Old English horn, Old Frisian horn, Old High German horn, Old Norse horn, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).
Noun
horn n
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | horn | horn |
accusative | horn | horn |
genitive | hornes | hornō |
dative | horne | hornun |
instrumental | — | — |
Descendants
Old Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.
Noun
horn n
Declension
Descendants
- Swedish: horn
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from Ukrainian горн (horn), from Proto-Slavic *gъrnъ.
Noun
horn n (plural hornuri)
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-.
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Noun
horn n
- horn (growth on animals' heads)
- horn (object shaped from or like an animal's horn, used for drinking, storage or making sounds)
- horn (object that makes a sound, e.g. on a car)
- (music) horn
Declension
Related terms
- bilhorn
- bläckhorn
- bockhorn n (“goat's horn”)
- dryckeshorn
- hornboskap
- hornmusik
- hornprydd
- kruthorn
- valthorn
- ymnighetshorn n (“cornucopia, horn of plenty”)
- älghorn
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱerh₂-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɔː(ɹ)n
- Rhymes:English/ɔː(ɹ)n/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Architectural elements
- en:Nautical
- en:Carpentry
- en:Musical instruments
- en:Automotive
- en:Sports
- English informal terms
- English slang
- English vulgarities
- en:Geography
- en:Botany
- en:Military
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Auto parts
- en:Containers
- en:Diacritical marks
- Danish terms inherited from Old Norse
- Danish terms derived from Old Norse
- Danish terms inherited from Proto-Norse
- Danish terms derived from Proto-Norse
- Danish terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Danish terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Danish terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Danish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Danish neuter nouns
- Faroese terms inherited from Old Norse
- Faroese terms derived from Old Norse
- Faroese terms inherited from Proto-Norse
- Faroese terms derived from Proto-Norse
- Faroese terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Faroese terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Faroese terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Faroese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Faroese/ɔtn
- Faroese lemmas
- Faroese nouns
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- fo:Musical instruments
- Icelandic terms inherited from Old Norse
- Icelandic terms derived from Old Norse
- Icelandic terms inherited from Proto-Norse
- Icelandic terms derived from Proto-Norse
- Icelandic terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Icelandic terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Icelandic terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Icelandic 1-syllable words
- Icelandic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Icelandic/ɔrtn
- Rhymes:Icelandic/ɔrtn/1 syllable
- Icelandic lemmas
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- is:Musical instruments
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English terms with rare senses
- enm:Heraldry
- enm:Animal body parts
- enm:Containers
- enm:Hair
- enm:Marriage
- enm:Military
- enm:Moons
- enm:Musical instruments
- enm:Natural materials
- Norwegian Bokmål terms inherited from Old Norse
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Old Norse
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Proto-Norse
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Norwegian Bokmål terms with IPA pronunciation
- Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
- Norwegian Bokmål nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål neuter nouns
- nb:Zoology
- nb:Musical instruments
- nb:Automotive
- nb:Rail transportation
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms inherited from Old Norse
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Old Norse
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Proto-Norse
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms with IPA pronunciation
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk neuter nouns
- nn:Zoology
- nn:Musical instruments
- nn:Automotive
- nn:Rail transportation
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱer-
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old English lemmas
- Old English nouns
- Old English masculine nouns
- ang:Architecture
- Old English masculine a-stem nouns
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old High German lemmas
- Old High German nouns
- Old High German neuter nouns
- Old Norse terms inherited from Proto-Norse
- Old Norse terms derived from Proto-Norse
- Old Norse terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Norse terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Norse terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Norse lemmas
- Old Norse nouns
- Old Norse entries with topic categories using raw markup
- Old Norse neuter nouns
- Old Norse neuter a-stem nouns
- non:Anatomy
- Old Saxon terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Old Saxon terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Saxon lemmas
- Old Saxon nouns
- Old Saxon neuter nouns
- Old Saxon a-stem nouns
- Old Swedish terms inherited from Old Norse
- Old Swedish terms derived from Old Norse
- Old Swedish terms inherited from Proto-Norse
- Old Swedish terms derived from Proto-Norse
- Old Swedish terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Swedish terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Swedish terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Swedish lemmas
- Old Swedish nouns
- Old Swedish neuter nouns
- Old Swedish a-stem nouns
- Romanian terms borrowed from Ukrainian
- Romanian terms derived from Ukrainian
- Romanian terms derived from Proto-Slavic
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian neuter nouns
- Swedish terms inherited from Old Norse
- Swedish terms derived from Old Norse
- Swedish terms inherited from Proto-Norse
- Swedish terms derived from Proto-Norse
- Swedish terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Swedish terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Swedish terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Swedish terms with audio pronunciation
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish neuter nouns
- sv:Musical instruments