Etymologically
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horn

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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A tip of the crescent moon is from the late 14th century.[3] The wind instrument was originally made from an animal's horn, and the name passed to brass instruments developed from the hunting horn.[3] Of dilemmas (on the horns of a dilemma) it is from the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

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