horn

Where “horn” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
2. 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. 3
   An antler.
4. 4
   The hard substance from which animals' horns are made, sometimes used by man as a material for making various objects.
5. 5
   A vessel made from a horn, to contain drink, ink, gunpowder, etc.
6. 6
   An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.
7. 7
   An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.
8. 8
   An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.
9. 9
   An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.
10. 10
    An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.
11. 11
    An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.
12. 12
    Any of several musical wind instruments.
13. 13
    An instrument resembling a musical horn and used to signal others.
14. 14
    A loud alarm, especially one on a motor vehicle.
15. 15
    A sound signaling the expiration of time.
16. 16
    A conical device used to direct waves.
17. 17
    Generally, any brass wind instrument.
18. 18
    A telephone.
19. 19
    An erection of the penis.
20. 20
    A peninsula or projecting tract of land.
21. 21
    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.
22. 22
    An incurved, tapering and pointed appendage found in the flowers of the milkweed (Asclepias).
23. 23
    In naval mine warfare, a projection from the mine shell of some contact mines which, when broken or bent by contact, causes the mine to fire.

Etymology

From Middle English horn, horne, from Old English horn, from Proto-West Germanic *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 *ḱr̥h₂-nó-m, from *ḱerh₂- (“head, horn”). Compare Breton kern (“horn”), Latin cornū, Ancient Greek κέρας (kéras), Proto-Slavic *sьrna, Old Church Slavonic сьрна (sĭrna, “roedeer”), Hittite [script needed] (surna, “horn”), Persian سر (sar), Sanskrit शृङ्ग (śṛṅga, “horn”). Doublet of corn (“callus”), corno, and cornu. (telephone): From the horn-shaped earpieces of old communication systems that used air tubes.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hhorn,honr,hornn,horrn,hron,ohrn

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of horn - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Frequently Asked Questions