noun · neuterfourth declension
cornū̆
cornū̆ n (genitive cornūs or cornū)
Classical[ˈkɔr.nuː]Ecclesiastical[ˈkɔr.nu]
cornuum pl. gen.№ 591 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- horn; antler
ductōrēsque ipsōs prīmum, capita alta ferentēs cornibus arboreīs, sternit And first the leaders themselves, bearing their heads high with branching antlers, [Aeneas] strikes down. (Demonstrating his military skill, Aeneas first targets the “leaders” – in this case, three stags.)
29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.189–190 - tusk
- the horns of the moon
Nūllus adhūc mundō praebēbat lūmina Tītān, nec nova crēscendō reparābat cornua Phoebē, nec circumfūsō pendēbat in āere tellūs ponderibus lībrāta suīs, nec bracchia longō margine terrārum porrēxerat Amphītrītē; […]
No Titan [Sun] as yet provided light to the world, nor did Phoebe [the Moon] repair new horns in waxing, nor did the Earth hang in the surrounding air, balanced by its own weights, nor had Amphitrite [the sea] stretched her arms down the far borders of the lands; […]8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 1.10–14 - arm or wing (of an army)
c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 1.52
- in pluralpoeticbow
- horn (as a musical instrument)
- any substance like the material of a horn, such as the beak or bill of a bird
- end of the stick around which books (scrolls) were rolled, ornamented with ivory
8 CE – 12 CE, Ovidius, Tristia 1.1.8
- figurativelypower; strength; might
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
dūrum quod in capite taurī crēscit; duo cornua.cornū -ūs n — in Mille Verba, Animālia
(aciēī) pars extrēmacornū -ūs (n) — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 8
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | cornū̆ | cornua |
| genitive | cornūs cornū | cornuum |
| dative | cornū cornuī | cornibus |
| accusative | cornū̆ | cornua |
| ablative | cornū | cornibus |
| vocative | cornū̆ | cornua |
cornū, ūs (so Caes. B. C. 3, 68 Dint.; Luc. 7, 217; Plin. 28, 11, 46, § 163 et saep.; Curt. 4, 12, 11 al.; ū in the connection cornu bubuli and cornu cervini; also Cael. Aur. Tard. 3, 5, 76; Veg. Art. Vet. 1, 20, 1 al.; cf. esp. Neue, Formenl. 1, p. 355), n. (access. form cornum, i, n., Varr. R. R. 3, 9, 14; Ter. Eun. 4, 7, 5 Fleck.; Lucr. 2, 388; Ov. M. 2, 874; Scrib. Comp. 141; Gell. 14, 6, 2 al.;
I. gen. plur. cornorum, Scrib. Comp. 60. —An access. form cornus, ūs, has been assumed on account of the rel. masc. in the passage:
nares similes cornibus iis, qui, etc., Cic. N. D. 2, 59, 149, if the reading is correct.—The dat. sing. apparently never used; for in the connection: laevo cornu Cotys rex praeerat ... dextro cornu praepositus C. Licinius Crassus, Liv. 42, 58, 6 and 7, the supposition of the abl. is more in acc. with the usage of Livy; cf.: Antipatrum in laevo praeposuit, id. 37, 41, 1 et saep.) [kindred with κέρας, and Germ. and Engl. horn; cf. also carina, cervus], a horn. I. Lit., a hard and generally crooked growth upon the head of many mammiferous animals (very freq. in all periods and species of composition), Plin. 11, 37, 45, § 123 sq.; Cic. N. D. 2, 47, 121;
of a bullock, Lucr. 5, 1033; 5, 1324; Cat. 64, 111; Ov. M. 9, 186; Hor. C. 3, 27, 72; id. S. 1, 5, 58 et saep.; also of the constellation Taurus, Ov. M. 2, 80; of the ram, id. ib. 5, 328; and the constellation Aries, Cic. poët. N. D. 2, 43, 111; of the he-goat, Verg. E. 9, 25; of kids, id. G. 2, 526 al.—Of the antlers of a stag, Ov. M. 3, 194; 10, 111; Verg. A. 10, 725 al.: Cornu Copiae (less correctly, but freq. in late Lat., as one word, Cornūcōpĭae, and twice Cornūcōpĭa, ae, f., Amm. 22, 9, 1; 25, 2, 3), acc. to the fable, the horn of the goat Amalthea placed in heaven, Greek Κέρας Ἀμαλθείας (v. Amalthea), the emblem of fruitfulness and abundance, Plaut. Ps. 2, 3, 5; Gell. 14, 6, 2; cf. Hor. C. 1, 17, 16; id. C. S. 60; id. Ep. 1, 12, 29; Ov. M. 9, 88.—B. Meton., of things similar to horn in substance or form, or made of horn.
1. That which is similar to horn in substance.
b. Of the bills of birds, Ov. M. 14, 502.—
c. The horny skin covering the eye, Plin. 11, 37, 55, § 148.—
d. A horny excrescence on the head, a wart, Hor. S. 1, 5, 58.— Far more freq.,
2. That which is similar to a horn in form, a projecting extremity, the point or end of any object.
a. The tooth or tusk of an elephant, ivory, Varr. L. L. 7, § 39 Müll.; Plin. 8, 3, 4, § 7; 18, 1, 1, § 2:
cornu Indicum, Mart. 1, 73, 4.—b. The horns of the moon, Cic. Fragm. ap. Non. p. 122, 2; Verg. G. 1, 433; Ov. M. 1, 11; 2, 117 et saep.—
c. The branches of a river, Ov. M. 9, 774.—Hence, the river-gods were represented with horns, Verg. G. 4, 371; Mart. 10, 7 et saep.; cf.: corniger, tauriformis, etc., and v. Lidd. and Scott under κέρας, V.—
d. The arm of the shore forming a harbor, a tongue of land, Caes. ap. Cic. Att. 9, 14, 1; Ov. M. 5, 410; Plin. 4, 21, 35, § 113.—
e. The extremity or end of the sailyards, Verg. A. 3, 549; 5, 832; Ov. M. 11, 476; Hor. Epod. 16, 59; Sil. 14. 389.—
f. The cone of a helmet in which the crest was placed:
cornua cristae, Verg. A. 12, 89: alterum cornu galeae, Liv. 27, 33, 2.—g. The end of the stick around which books were rolled, usually ornamented with ivory, Tib. 3, 1, 13; Ov. Tr. 1, 1, 8; Mart. 11, 107. —
h. The side of a bow in the form of a horn, Ov. M. 1, 455; 5, 56; 2, 603.—
i. The horn-shaped side of the cithara (perh. the sounding-board), Cic. N. D. 2, 59, 149 fin.—
k. The top or summit of a mountain:
cornua Parnasi, Stat. Th. 5, 532; Curt. 3, 4, 4. —1. The point, end, extremity, wing of a place, Liv. 25, 3, 17; Tac. A. 1, 75; Plin. 34, 6, 12, § 26 al.—
m. The wing of an army (very freq.), Caes. B. G. 1, 52 (three times); 2, 23; 2, 25; 7, 62 (twice); Liv. 9, 40, 3 sq(seven times).—*
(b). Transf.:
cornua disputationis tuae commovere, i. e. to drive back, Cic. Div. 2, 10, 26 (v. the passage in connection).—n. The feeler or claw of an insect, Plin. 9, 30, 50, § 95; 9, 31, 51, § 99 al. —
o. The stiff hair of the Germans:
quis stupuit Germani lumina, flavam Caesariem et madido torquentem cornua cirro? Juv. 13, 165.—3. Of objects made of horn.
b. A bugle-horn, a horn, trumpet (cornua, quod ea, quae nunc sunt ex aere, tunc fiebant bubulo e cornu, Varr. L. L. 5, § 117 Müll.), Lucil. ap. Non. p. 265, 5; Lucr. 2, 620; Verg. A. 7, 615; Ov. M. 1, 98; 3, 533; Hor. C. 1, 18, 14; 2, 1, 17; Juv. 2, 90; 6, 315.—Connected with tubae, Cic. Sull. 5, 17; Tac. A. 1, 68; 2, 81, cf. Dict. of Antiq., s. v. cornu.—In a sarcastic double sense with a.: dum tendit citharam noster, dum cornua Parthus, Poët. ap. Suet. Ner. 39 (v. the passage in connection).—
c. The sides of the lyre, originally consisting of two horns, giving resonance to the strings, Cic. N. D. 2, 57, 144; 2, 59, 149.—
e. An oil cruet, Hor S. 2, 2, 61.—
II. Trop., as an emblem of power, courage, strength, might (the figure taken from bullocks. Also in Heb. a very freq. metaph.; cf. Gesen. Lex. s. v. , p. 906, 6; poet.):
ne in re secundā nunc mi obvortat cornua, Plaut. Ps. 4, 3, 5: venerunt capiti cornua sera meo, Ov. Am. 3, 11,: tunc pauper cornua sumit, gains strength, courage, id. A. A. 1, 239; cf.. tu (sc. amphora) addis cornua pauperi, etc., Hor. C. 3, 21, 18.—Hence Bacchus, as a giver of courage, is represented with horns, Tib. 2, 1, 3; Hor. C. 2, 19, 30; v. Bacchus, I.; cf. of a river-god, I. B. 2. c. supra.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
cornū ūs (acc. cornum, T., O.), n (once m, C.)
1 CAR-, a horn, antler: (animantes) cornibus armatae: tauri, O.: cornu ferit (caper), V.: luctantur cornibus haedi, V.—As a vessel: bilibre, H.—As a funnel: inserto latices infundere cornu, V.—With copia, the horn of plenty (an emblem of abundance): beata pleno Copia cornu, H.: dives meo Bona Copia cornu, O.—A horny substance, horn (poet.): solido sonat ungula cornu, V.: ora cornu indurata rigent, i. e. by the growth of horny bills, O.—A projection, protuberance, horn, point, end: flexum a cornibus arcum Tendit, i. e. from tip to tip, O.: Cornua antemnarum, tips, V.: cornua cristae, the cone (supporting the crest), V.: galeae, L.: per novem cornua lunae, months, O.: septem digestus in cornua Nilus, branches, O.: inclusam cornibus aequor, capes, O.: in cornu sedere, at the end (of the tribunal), L.—Of an army, the wing, extremity, side: dextrum, sinistrum, Cs.: equitatum in cornibus locat, S. — A bow: Parthum, V.—A bugle-horn, horn, trumpet: misit cornua, tubas: Aerea cornua, V.: Berecyntium, H.— The sides of the lyre (orig. two horns holding the strings), C.—In a constellation, The Horn: Tauri, O.: Aries cum cornibus. — Fig., a salient point, chief argument: cornua commovere disputationis. —The wing, flank: qui quasi cornua duo tenuerunt Caesaris, i. e. were his main dependence.—Power, courage, strength, might: addis cornua pauperi, H.
Origins
Inherited from Proto-Italic *kornū. Cognate with English horn, hirn; Ancient Greek κρᾱνῐ́ον (krānĭ́on, “skull”), κέρᾰς (kérăs, “horn”); Sanskrit शृङ्ग॑ (śṛ́ṅga, “horn; tusk”). See also cerebrum (“brain”), cervus (“deer”).
Southern Gallo-Romance
- Catalancorn
- Occitancòrn
Ibero-Romance
- Portuguesecornofrom Old Galician-Portuguese corno
- Spanishcuerno
- Aragonesecuerno
- Aragonesecorno
- Asturiancuernu
- Leonesecuernu
- Falacornufrom Old Galician-Portuguese corno
- Galiciancornofrom Old Galician-Portuguese corno
Borrowings
- Englishcornu
- English-corn
- Idokornofrom Esperanto korno
- Irishcornfrom Old Irish corn
- Manxcayrnfrom Old Irish corn
- Scottish Gaeliccòrnfrom Old Irish corn
- Bretoncornfrom Proto-Brythonic *korn
- Cornishcornfrom Proto-Brythonic *korn
- Welshcornfrom Proto-Brythonic *korn
Insular Romance
- Sardiniancorru
Balkano-Romance
- Romaniancorn
- Aromaniancornu
Italo-Dalmatian
- Italiancorno
- Corsicancornu
- Corsicancorru
- Dalmatiancuarno
- Istriotcuorno
- Neapolitancuórno
- Siciliancornu
- Venetancorno
Rhaeto-Romance
- Friuliancuar
- Ladincorn
- Ladincòrn
- Romanshcorn
- Romanshcorna
Gallo-Italic
- Emiliancôren
- Emiliancôrna
- Liguriancòrno
- Lombardcòrno
- Lombardcóren
- Piedmontesecòrn
- Romagnolcôran
Northern Gallo-Romance
- Franco-Provençalcôrna
- Old Frenchcorn
- Old Frenchcorne