horn

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A hard pointed growth on the head of some animals, such as cows or goats.

   The bull lowered its head and showed its horns.

2. 2
   noun

   A device on a vehicle that makes a loud warning sound.

   The driver pressed the horn when the cyclist swerved.

3. 3
   noun

   A brass musical instrument that you blow into.

   He played the horn in the school orchestra.

4. 4
   noun

   The hard substance that animal horns are made of, used to make objects.

   The umbrella had a handle made of horn.

5. 5
   verb

   To stab or pierce with a horn.

   The angry rhino horned the explorer.

Common collocations

• baritone horn Noun + noun

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. (tele…

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images