horn

[hawrn]

noun

1. one of the bony, permanent, hollow paired growths, often curved and pointed, that project from the upper part of the head of certain hooved mammals, as cattle, sheep, goats, or antelopes.

2. a similar growth, sometimes of hair, as the median horn or horns on the snout of the rhinoceros, or the tusk of the narwhal.

3. antler.

4. a process projecting from the head of an animal and suggestive of such a growth, as a feeler, tentacle, or crest.

5. the bony substance of which such animal growths are composed.

6. any similar substance, as that forming tortoise shell, hoofs, nails, or corns.

7. an article made of the material of an animal horn or like substance, as a thimble, spoon, or shoehorn.

8. any projection or extremity resembling the horn of an animal.

9. something resembling or suggesting an animal horn.

   a drinking horn.

10. a part resembling an animal horn attributed to deities, demons, etc..

    the devil's horn.

11. Usually horns. the imaginary projections on a cuckold's brow.

12. Music.

    1. a wind instrument, originally formed from the hollow horn of an animal but now usually made of brass or other metal or plastic.

    2. French horn.

13. something used as or resembling such a wind instrument.

14. Slang.,  a trumpet.

15. an instrument for sounding a warning signal.

    an automobile horn.

16. Aeronautics.,  any of certain short, armlike levers on the control surfaces of an airplane.

17. Radio.

    1. a tube of varying cross section used in some loudspeakers to couple the diaphragm to the sound-transmitting space.

    2. Slang.,  a loudspeaker.

18. Slang.,  a telephone or radiotelephone.

    I've been on the horn all morning.

19. the high protuberant part at the front and top of certain saddles; a pommel, especially a high one.

20. Carpentry.,  (in a door or window frame) that part of a jamb extending above the head.

21. one of the curved extremities of a crescent, especially of the crescent moon.

22. a crescent-shaped tract of land.

23. a pyramidal mountain peak, especially one having concave faces carved by glaciation.

24. a symbol of power or strength, as in the Bible.

    a horn of salvation.

25. each of the alternatives of a dilemma.

26. the narrow, more pointed part of an anvil.

27. ear tuft.

28. Metalworking.,  a projection at the side of the end of a rolled sheet or strip, caused by unevenness of the roll due to wear.

29. Horology.,  (in a lever escapement) either of the two prongs at the end of the lever fork guarding against overbanking when the guard pin is in the crescent.

verb (used with object)

1. to cuckold.

2. to butt or gore with the horns.

3. Shipbuilding.,  to set up (a frame or bulkhead of a vessel being built) at a proper angle to the keel with due regard to the inclination of the keel on the ways; plumb.

adjective

1. made of horn.

horn

¹

/ hɔːn /

noun

1. either of a pair of permanent outgrowths on the heads of cattle, antelopes, sheep, etc, consisting of a central bony core covered with layers of keratin

2. the outgrowth from the nasal bone of a rhinoceros, consisting of a mass of fused hairs

3. any hornlike projection or process, such as the eyestalk of a snail

4. the antler of a deer

5. 1. the constituent substance, mainly keratin, of horns, hooves, etc

   2. ( in combination )

      horn-rimmed spectacles

6. a container or device made from this substance or an artificial substitute

   a shoe horn

   a drinking horn

7. an object or part resembling a horn in shape, such as the points at either end of a crescent, the point of an anvil, the pommel of a saddle, or a cornucopia

8. a primitive musical wind instrument made from the horn of an animal

9. any musical instrument consisting of a pipe or tube of brass fitted with a mouthpiece, with or without valves See hunting horn French horn cor anglais

10. slang,  jazz any wind instrument

11. 1. a device for producing a warning or signalling noise

    2. ( in combination )

       a foghorn

12. (usually plural) the hornlike projection attributed to certain devils, deities, etc

13. (usually plural) the imaginary hornlike parts formerly supposed to appear on the forehead of a cuckold

14. Also called: horn balance. an extension of an aircraft control surface that projects in front of the hinge providing aerodynamic assistance in moving the control

15. 1. Also called: acoustic horn.  exponential horn. a hollow conical device coupled to the diaphragm of a gramophone to control the direction and quality of the sound

    2. any such device used to spread or focus sound, such as the device attached to an electrical loudspeaker in a public address system

    3. Also called: horn antenna. a microwave aerial, formed by flaring out the end of a waveguide

16. geology another name for pyramidal peak

17. a stretch of land or water shaped like a horn

18. slang,  an erection of the penis

19. Bible a symbol of power, victory, or success

    in my name shall his horn be exalted

20. Brit equivalent: blow one's own trumpet. to boast about oneself; brag

21. 1. to suppress or control one's feelings, esp of anger, enthusiasm, or passion

    2. to withdraw a previous statement

    3. to economize

22. 1. in a situation involving a choice between two equally unpalatable alternatives

    2. in an awkward situation

verb

1. to provide with a horn or horns

2. to gore or butt with a horn

Horn

²

/ hɔːn /

noun

1. See Cape Horn

horn

1. Either of the bony growths projecting from the upper part of the head of certain hoofed mammals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats. The horns of these animals are never shed, and they consist of bone covered by keratin.

2. A hard growth that looks like a horn, such as an antler or a growth on the head of a giraffe or rhinoceros. Unlike true horns, antlers are shed yearly and have a velvety covering, and the horns of a rhinoceros are made not of bone but of hairy skin fused with keratin.

3. The hard durable substance that forms the outer covering of true horns. It consists of keratin.

Other Word Forms

• hornlike adjective
• hornless adjective
• hornish adjective
• hornlessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of horn¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English horn(e) (noun), Old English horn; cognate with Dutch horen, Old Norse, Danish, Swedish horn, German Horn, Gothic haurn, Latin cornu “horn,” Irish, Welsh corn; akin to Greek kéras “horn” ( cerat- ); cornu

Word History and Origins

Origin of horn¹

Old English; related to Old Norse horn, Gothic haurn, Latin cornu horn

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. draw / pull in one's horns, to restrain oneself or become less belligerent; retreat.

   Since he lost so much gambling, he's drawn in his horns a bit.

2. on the horns of a dilemma, confronted with two equally disagreeable choices.

3. blow / toot one's own horn, to publicize or boast about one's abilities or achievements.

   He's a bright fellow, but likes to blow his own horn too much.

4. horn in, to thrust oneself forward obtrusively; intrude or interrupt.

   Every time we try to have a private conversation, the boss horns in.

5. lock horns, to conflict, quarrel, or disagree.

   The administration and the staff locked horns over the proposed measures.

More idioms and phrases containing horn

• blow one's own horn
• lock horns
• pull in one's horns
• take the bull by the horns

Example Sentences

Or her Delhi architecture school days, when she was too broke for jewellery and wore "cow beads" - fat glass beads strung across cow horns, bought off herdsmen near the hostel.

From BBC

The simulation of human handicraft — of stagehands and horn players hiding in the wings — is unnerving.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s a guitar that sounds and swings like an electric piano, there are horns when you’re not expecting them — it is a thoroughly Memphis arrangement that holds its own.

From Salon

At the helm of a massive shiny black truck bearing the Teamsters insignia, a driver clenched a cigar between his teeth as he steered with one hand and pulled an overhead horn with the other.

From Los Angeles Times

While walking the noisy, packed streets of the central city, with the engines of London Transport double-decker buses roaring, horns tooting and newspaper sellers shouting the headlines of the latest European crisis, he muses:

From Salon

Related Words

• beaker 
• canteen 
• carafe 
• chalice 
• decanter 
• jug 
• urn 
• vial