cornu

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a horn-shaped anatomical part, such as a projection of a bone, organ, or region of the spinal cord

   The scan showed an abnormality in the posterior cornu of the spinal cord.

2. 2
   noun

   a large curved brass instrument used by the ancient Roman army

   The reenactor raised the cornu and sounded a low military signal.

Borrowed through New Latin from Latin cornu 'horn.' Anatomists used the word for structures that resemble an animal's horn, while historians retained it for the curved Roman instrument. Cornu and English horn ultimately descend from the same ancient Indo-European root.

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