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horn

Pronunciation: /hɔːn/

The English word “horn” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
  2. 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.
  3. An antler.
  4. The hard substance from which animals' horns are made, sometimes used by man as a material for making various objects.
  5. A vessel made from a horn, to contain drink, ink, gunpowder, etc.
  6. One of the two corners of a crescent, particularly of the crescent moon
  7. The high pommel of a saddle; also, either of the projections on a lady's saddle for supporting the leg.
  8. The Ionic volute.
  9. The outer end of a crosstree; also, one of the projections forming the jaws of a gaff, boom, etc.
  10. A curved projection on the fore part of a plane.
  11. One of the projections at the four corners of the Jewish altar of burnt offering.
  12. Any of several musical wind instruments.
  13. An instrument resembling a musical horn and used to signal others.
  14. A loud alarm, especially one on a motor vehicle.
  15. A sound signaling the expiration of time.
  16. A conical device used to direct waves.
  17. Generally, any brass wind instrument.
  18. A telephone.
  19. An erection of the penis.
  20. A peninsula or projecting tract of land.

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),…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.