unicorn English · revision 867

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈjuː.nɪ.kɔːn/ ''(UK)''; /ˈju.nɪ.kɔɹn/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|unicorne]], [[bor|fro|unicorne]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|la-lat|ūnicornis|t=one-horned]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[af|la|ūni-|cornū|t1=one|t2=horn]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Old English had ''ānhorn'', a loan translation of the Latin.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A fabulous animal with a single horn projecting from its forehead (before 1225).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Late Latin word of the Vulgate translated Greek ''monókerōs'', which rendered Hebrew ''rə'ēm'', probably a kind of wild ox;^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) the Revised Version replaced ''unicorn'' with ''wild-ox''.^(Etymonline) Pliny described the creature as having a horse's body, a deer's head, an elephant's feet and a lion's tail.^(Etymonline) In heraldry the unicorn is a supporter of the Royal Arms of Scotland and Great Britain (c. 1400),^(OED 1989)^(AHD) and a Scottish gold coin bearing its figure was called a ''unicorn'' (1487).^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) The constellation Monoceros is also called the Unicorn (1771).^(OED 1989)^(AHD) In modern business use a ''unicorn'' is a start-up company valued at over a billion dollars.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1225 – the fabulous animal.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1400 – a heraldic representation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1487 – a Scottish gold coin.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1771 – the constellation Monoceros.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A fabled creature, usually shown as a horse with a single straight spiralled horn in the middle of its forehead, often a symbol of purity.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A heraldic representation of this beast, with a lion's tail, as a supporter of the Royal Arms of Scotland or Britain.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(Unicorn)'' The constellation [[Monoceros]].^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+ # Something rare and hard to find; also, a start-up company valued at more than a billion dollars.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[horn]]

+ * [[unicycle]]

+ * [[rhinoceros]]

+ * [[narwhal]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}