u⋅ni⋅corn
[yoo-ni-kawrn] 
| 1. | a mythical creature resembling a horse, with a single horn in the center of its forehead: often symbolic of chastity or purity. |
| 2. | a heraldic representation of this animal, in the form of a horse with a lion's tail and with a long, straight, and spirally twisted horn. |
| 3. | (initial capital letter ) Astronomy. the constellation Monoceros. |
| 4. | an animal mentioned in the Bible, Deut. 33:17: now believed by some to be a description of a wild ox or rhinoceros. |
| 5. | a former gold coin of Scotland, first issued by James III in 1486, having an obverse bearing the figure of a unicorn. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| u·ni·corn (yōō'nĭ-kôrn') n.
[Middle English unicorne, from Old French, from Late Latin ūnicornis, from Latin, having one horn : ūnus, one; see oi-no- in Indo-European roots + cornū, horn; see ker-1 in Indo-European roots.] |
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Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Unicorn
U"ni*corn\, n. [OE. unicorne, F. unicorne, L. unicornis one-horned, having a single horn; unus one + cornu a horn; cf. L. unicornuus a unicorn. See One, and Horn.]1. A fabulous animal with one horn; the monoceros; -- often represented in heraldry as a supporter. 2. A two-horned animal of some unknown kind, so called in the Authorized Version of the Scriptures. Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? --Job xxxix. 10. Note: The unicorn mentioned in the Scripture was probably the urus. See the Note under Reem. 3. (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any large beetle having a hornlike prominence on the head or prothorax. (b) The larva of a unicorn moth. 4. (Zo["o]l.) The kamichi; -- called also unicorn bird. 5. (Mil.) A howitzer. [Obs.] Fossil unicorn, or Fossil unicorn's horn (Med.), a substance formerly of great repute in medicine; -- named from having been supposed to be the bone or the horn of the unicorn. Unicorn fish, Unicorn whale (Zo["o]l.), the narwhal. Unicorn moth (Zo["o]l.), a notodontian moth (C[oe]lodasys unicornis) whose caterpillar has a prominent horn on its back; -- called also unicorn prominent. Unicorn root (Bot.), a name of two North American plants, the yellow-flowered colicroot (Aletris farinosa) and the blazing star (Cham[ae]lirium luteum). Both are used in medicine. Unicorn shell (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of marine gastropods having a prominent spine on the lip of the shell. Most of them belong to the genera Monoceros and Leucozonia.Cite This Source
unicorn
A mythical animal resembling a small horse but with a long, straight horn growing out of its forehead. Often it was described as having the legs of a deer and the tail of a lion. Some sources claim it was visible only to virgins.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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unicorn
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Main Entry: uni·corn
Pronunciation: 'yü-n&-"ko(&)rn
Function: adjective
: having a single horn or hornlike process unicornuterus>
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Unicorn
described as an animal of great ferocity and strength (Num. 23:22, R.V., "wild ox," marg., "ox-antelope;" 24:8; Isa. 34:7, R.V., "wild oxen"), and untamable (Job 39:9). It was in reality a two-horned animal; but the exact reference of the word so rendered (reem) is doubtful. Some have supposed it to be the buffalo; others, the white antelope, called by the Arabs rim. Most probably, however, the word denotes the Bos primigenius ("primitive ox"), which is now extinct all over the world. This was the auerochs of the Germans, and the urus described by Caesar (Gal. Bel., vi.28) as inhabiting the Hercynian forest. The word thus rendered has been found in an Assyrian inscription written over the wild ox or bison, which some also suppose to be the animal intended (comp. Deut. 33:17; Ps. 22:21; 29:6; 92:10).
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