horn

See also: Horn, hörn, and Hörn

English

Etymology

From Middle English horn, horne, from Old English 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 *ḱerh₂-, (compare Breton kern (“horn”), Latin cornū, Ancient Greek κέρας (kéras), Old Church Slavonic сръна (srŭna, “roedeer”), Hittite [script needed] (surna, “horn”)[script needed], Persian سور‎ (sur), Sanskrit शृङ्ग (śṛṅga, “horn”)).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) enPR: hôn, IPA(key): /hɔːn/
  • Audio (UK)(file)
  • (US) enPR: hôrn, IPA(key): /hɔɹn/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɔː(r)n

Noun

horn (countable and uncountable, plural horns)

  1. (countable) 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. (uncountable) The hard substance from which animals' horns are made, sometimes used by man as a material for making various objects.
    Synonym: keratin
    an umbrella with a handle made of horn
  5. An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia, the point of an anvil, or a vessel for gunpowder or liquid.
    • Thomson
      The moon / Wears a wan circle round her blunted horns.
    • Mason
      horns of mead and ale
    1. The high pommel of a saddle; also, either of the projections on a lady's saddle for supporting the leg.
    2. (architecture) The Ionic volute.
    3. (nautical) The outer end of a crosstree; also, one of the projections forming the jaws of a gaff, boom, etc.
    4. (carpentry) A curved projection on the fore part of a plane.
    5. One of the projections at the four corners of the Jewish altar of burnt offering.
      • Bible, 1 Kings ii. 28
        Joab […] caught hold on the horns of the altar
  6. (countable) Any of several musical wind instruments.
  7. (countable, music) An instrument resembling a musical horn and used to signal others.
    hunting horn
  8. (countable, automotive) A loud alarm, especially one on a motor vehicle.
    Synonyms: hooter, klaxon
  9. (countable) A conical device used to direct waves.
    Synonym: funnel
    antenna horn
    loudspeaker horn
  10. (informal, music, countable) Generally, any brass wind instrument.
  11. (slang, countable, from the horn-shaped earpieces of old communication systems that used air tubes) A telephone.
    Synonyms: blower (UK), dog and bone (Cockney rhyming slang), phone
    Get him on the horn so that we can have a discussion about this.
  12. (uncountable, vulgar, slang, definite article) An erection of the penis.
    Synonyms: boner (US), hard-on, stiffy
  13. (countable, geography) A peninsula or crescent-shaped tract of land.
    Synonym: peninsula
    to navigate around the horn
  14. (countable) A diacritical mark that may be attached to the top right corner of the letters o and u when writing in Vietnamese, thus forming ơ and ư.
  15. (botany) An incurved, tapering and pointed appendage found in the flowers of the milkweed (Asclepias).

Usage notes

When used alone to refer to an instrument, horn can mean either hunting horn or French horn, depending on context. Other instruments are identified by specific adjectives such as English horn or basset horn.

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Verb

horn (third-person singular simple present horns, present participle horning, simple past and past participle horned)

  1. (of an animal) To assault with the horns
  2. (slang, obsolete) To cuckold

Derived terms

Anagrams

Danish

Noun

horn n (singular definite hornet, plural indefinite horn)

  1. horn

Inflection

References

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hɔtn/
  • Rhymes: -ɔtn

Noun

horn n (genitive singular horns, plural horn)

  1. horn (of an animal)
  2. (music) horn
  3. corner
  4. speaker (on a telephone)
  5. angle

Declension

Declension of horn
n3 singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative horn hornið horn hornini
accusative horn hornið horn hornini
dative horni horninum hornum hornunum
genitive horns hornsins horna hornanna

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hɔrtn/
  • Rhymes: -ɔrtn

Noun

horn n (genitive singular horns, nominative plural horn)

  1. horn (of an animal)
  2. fin (of a cetacean or other marine animal)
  3. corner
  4. angle
  5. (music) horn

Declension

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.

Noun

horn n (definite singular hornet, indefinite plural horn, definite plural horna or hornene)

  1. (zoology) horn
  2. (music) horn
  3. (automotive, rail transport) horn (warning device)

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hʊrn/, /hɔrn/

Noun

horn n (definite singular hornet, indefinite plural horn, definite plural horna)

  1. (zoology) horn
  2. (music) horn
  3. (automotive, rail transport) horn (warning device)

Derived terms

References

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“horn, head, top”). Compare Old Frisian horn (West Frisian hoarn), Old Saxon horn (Low German Hoorn, horn), Dutch hoorn, Old High German horn (German Horn), Old Norse horn (Danish and Swedish horn), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /horn/

Noun

horn n (nominative plural hornas)

  1. horn

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-. Cognates include also Old Saxon horn, Old English horn, Old Norse horn, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).

Noun

horn n

  1. horn

Descendants

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-. Cognates include Old English horn (English horn, Old Frisian horn (West Frisian hoarn), Old Saxon horn (Low German Hoorn, horn), Dutch hoorn, Old High German horn (German Horn), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).

Noun

horn n (genitive horns, plural horn)

  1. horn (of an animal)
  2. horn (to drink from)
  3. horn (musical instrument)
  4. corner
  5. angle

Declension

Descendants

References

  • horn in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-. Cognates include also Old English horn, Old Frisian horn, Old High German horn, Old Norse horn, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).

Noun

horn n

  1. horn

Descendants

  • Low German: Hoorn, horn

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse horn, from Proto-Norse ᚺᛟᚱᚾᚨ (horna), from Proto-Germanic *hurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-.

Pronunciation

  • Audio(file)

Noun

horn n

  1. horn (growth on animals' heads)
  2. horn (object shaped from or like an animal's horn, used for drinking, storage or making sounds)
  3. horn (object that makes a sound, e.g. on a car)
  4. (music) horn

Declension

Declension of horn 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative horn hornet horn hornen
Genitive horns hornets horns hornens
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