Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

horn

/hɔɹn/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.14 in modern English

Syllables
horn
IPA
/hɔɹn/
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.

Countable

noun

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.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An antler.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The hard substance from which animals' horns are made, sometimes used by man as a material for making various objects.

Uncountable

noun

A vessel made from a horn, to contain drink, ink, gunpowder, etc.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ ? Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂nós Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂nóm Proto-Germanic *hurną Proto-West Germanic *horn Old English horn Middle English horn English horn 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.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /hɔɹn/
  • British English: /hɔːn/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Law.

Inflected Forms

horns (plural) horns (present, singular) horning (participle, present) horned (participle, past) horned (past) the Horn (canonical)

Derived Forms

airhorn behorn bighorn blowhorn buckhorn bullhorn butterhorn deerhorn dehorn demihorn dishorn earhorn

Phrases

acoustic horn air horn Alpine horn alto horn Amalthea's horn Ammon's horn around the horn baritone horn

Synonyms

keratin hooter klaxon funnel blower dog and bone phone boner hard-on stiffy peninsula

Rhymes With

born first-born porn worn corn torn warn sworn borne thorn mourn reborn

Questions

How do you pronounce horn?
The recorded pronunciation is /hɔɹn/.
What does horn mean?
A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
Where does horn come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce horn

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “horn”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/hɔɹn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “horn”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “horn” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.