unicornis Latin · revision 4613
15 Oct 2026, 23:54 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=Pliny the Elder|origins=la ūnus, la cornū}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [uː.nɪˈkɔr.nɪs]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [u.niˈkɔr.nis]^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''ūnicornis''' (neuter ūnicorne); third-declension two-termination adjective^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is a compound, [[af|la|ūnus|cornū|t1=one|t2=horn]], with the adjective ending [[m|la|-is]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010) It renders Greek [[grc|μονόκερως|tr=monókerōs|t=one-horned]].^(Georges 1913)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, mentions one-horned Indian oxen.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Gaffiot 2016) Köbler dates him 23/24–79 AD.^(Köbler 2010)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant having a single horn, as Pliny's Indian oxen and Solinus' ox, and Tertullian calls the rhinoceros one-horned.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) As a noun Tertullian and the Psalms of the Vulgate use it of a one-horned beast, the unicorn.^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+
+ In medieval Latin it was the unicorn.^(Niermeyer 1976) British writers used it also figuratively, beside forms like ''unicornuus'' and the Greek words ''monoceros'' and ''rhinoceros''.^(DMLBS) [[en|unicorn]] is recorded in the early 13th century through Old French ''unicorne''.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of oxen.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of the rhinoceros.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 390–406 AD – The Vulgate Psalms use it of a unicorn.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * early 13th century – English ''unicorn'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # One-horned.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # A one-horned beast; a [[m|en|rhinoceros]]; a [[m|en|unicorn]].^(Georges 1913)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[cornu|alt=cornū]]
+ * [[en|unicorn]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}