Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

slughorn

/ˈslʌɡˌhɔɹn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.90 in modern English

Syllables
slug-horn
IPA
/ˈslʌɡˌhɔɹn/
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A certain fictional wind instrument.

noun

Obsolete spelling of slogan (“a battle cry among the ancient Irish or highlanders of Scotland”).

Obsolete

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *slowgʰos Proto-Celtic *slougos Old Irish slóg Middle Irish slúag Scottish Gaelic sluagh Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥der. Proto-Celtic *-sman Proto-Celtic *garsmander. Old Irish gairm Scottish Gaelic gairm Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairmbor. English sloggorne English slughorne English slughorn See slogan. Sense 1 (“wind instrument”) is due to an incorrect use of the word slughorn (sense 2: “battle cry”) by the English poet Thomas Chatterton (1752–1770) in his 1760s pseudo-Medieval poetry. He described the fictional instrument in footnotes as “warlike instruments of music” (Ælla, a Tragycal Enterlude), “a musical instrument not unlike a hautboy” (Eclogue the Second), and “war trumpets” (Battle of Hastings (No. 2)). The erroneous sense was then continued by the English poet and playwright Robert Browning (1812–1889) in his 1855 poem Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came. The use by English author Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) in 1989 is a deliberate allusion to Chatterton.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈslʌɡˌhɔɹn/
  • British English: /ˈslʌɡhɔːn/

Usage

Inflected Forms

slughorns (plural) slug-horn (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce slughorn?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈslʌɡˌhɔɹn/.
What does slughorn mean?
A certain fictional wind instrument.
Where does slughorn come from?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *slowgʰos Proto-Celtic *slougos Old Irish slóg Middle Irish slúag Scottish Gaelic sluagh Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥der. Proto-Celtic *-sman Proto-Celtic *garsmander. Old Irish gairm Scottish Gaelic gairm Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairmbor. English sloggorne English slughorne English slughorn See slogan. Sense 1 (“wind instrument”) is due to an incorrect use of the word slughorn (sense 2: “battle cry”) by the English poet Thomas Chatterton (1752–1770) in his 1760s pseudo-Medieval poetry. He described the fictional instrument in footnotes as “warlike instruments of music” (Ælla, a Tragycal Enterlude), “a musical instrument not unlike a hautboy” (Eclogue the Second), and “war trumpets” (Battle of Hastings (No. 2)). The erroneous sense was then continued by the English poet and playwright Robert Browning (1812–1889) in his 1855 poem Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came. The use by English author Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) in 1989 is a deliberate allusion to Chatterton.

How to pronounce slughorn

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