English
horn
Horn may come from Middle English horn.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hornuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1611horn
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hornuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1611horn
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Joab […] caught hold on the horns of the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘head, horn’
cheer, hart, cerebral, crater, grail, migraine, carotid, procrastinate, cerebellum, cranium, keratin, corny, cairn, cornea, cornet, cerebrum, rother, 52 more
Today it means
noun A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English horn / horn