Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hornbook

/hˈɔɹnbˌʊk/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.41 in modern English

Syllables: horn-book
IPA: /hˈɔɹnbˌʊk/

17

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A single page containing the alphabet, covered with a sheet of transparent horn, formerly used for teaching children to read.

noun

A legal textbook that provides a basic overview of a particular area of law.

Example Sentences

"Yes, yes, he teaches boyes the Horne-Booke: […]"
"HO′RNBOOK. n.ʃ. [horn and book] The firſt book of children, covered vvith horn to keep it unſoiled."
"By way of the hornbook Shakespeare would have learned to read, […]"
"Infants learned their letters from a hornbook, a square of wood shaped like a table-tennis bat on which were pasted the alphabet, syllables and the Lord's Prayer […]"
"The hornbook is the first piece of instructional material specifically mentioned in American records."
"Not only is it difficult to extract just the right doozy of an adjective out of the hornbook, but the maneuver can be performed at most twice in the course of an article or chapter."

Etymology

From horn + book.

Inflected Forms

hornbooks (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

primer ABC book ABC

Synonyms

battledore

Questions

How do you pronounce hornbook?: The recorded pronunciation is /hˈɔɹnbˌʊk/.
What does hornbook mean?: A single page containing the alphabet, covered with a sheet of transparent horn, formerly used for teaching children to read.
Where does hornbook come from?: From horn + book.

How to pronounce hornbook

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