horn

Pronunciation

• IPA: /hɔːn/ (UK); /hɔɹn/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English horn (“horn of an animal; projection; wind instrument”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *hurnaz,^[3][5] source also of Dutch hoorn, German Horn and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn),^[3][2] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“horn; head”), also the source of Latin cornu and Greek κέρας (kéras).^[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The horn of an animal: about 725, in Beowulf; a wind instrument, about 830, in the Vespasian Psalter.^[2]

Semantic evolution

A tip of the crescent moon is from the late 14th century.^[3] The wind instrument was originally made from an animal's horn, and the name passed to brass instruments developed from the hunting horn.^[3] Of dilemmas (on the horns of a dilemma) it is from the 1540s, and of motor-car warning signals from 1901.^[3] A trumpet in jazz slang is by 1921, and a telephone by 1945.^[3] The verb, to cuckold, is from the 1540s, and horn in, to intrude, is later.^[3] Word Origins relates horn to corn, hard skin, and cornea through Latin cornu.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 725 – an animal's horn.^[2]
• c. 830 – a wind instrument.^[2]
• 1540s – horns of a dilemma.^[3]
• 1901 – a car horn.^[3]
• 1921 – a trumpet (jazz).^[3]
• 1945 – a telephone.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A hard, pointed, often curved growth on the head of cattle, sheep, goats and other animals.
2. The substance of horns, used to make objects.
3. A brass wind instrument, especially the French horn.
4. A device on a vehicle that makes a warning sound.
5. (informal) A telephone.

Verb

1. (horn in) To intrude or interfere.
2. To butt with the horns.

Word family

• hornist
• horned
• hornedness
• hornless
• hornlessness
• hornlike
• hornish

Related words

• corn
• cornea
• cornet
• unicorn
• hornet
• rhinoceros

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press