horns
|horns|
🇺🇸
/hɔrnz/
🇬🇧
/hɔːnz/
(horn)
projection or point
Etymology
'horn' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'horn', ultimately from Proto-Germanic '*hornuz', where the root referred to a projecting or pointed instrument or structure.
'horn' in Old English 'horn' continued from Proto-Germanic '*hornuz' and is related to words in other Germanic languages (e.g., Old Norse 'horn', Dutch 'hoorn'), eventually remaining 'horn' in modern English; the plural form developed regularly as 'horns'.
Initially, it meant 'a projecting, pointed structure' (as on animals or objects); over time the word extended metaphorically to instruments that project sound and to any similar projecting device; this range of meanings is retained in modern usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
plural of 'horn': the hard, often pointed permanent growths on the heads of certain animals (e.g., cattle, goats).
The bull lowered its horns and charged.
Synonyms
Noun 2
brass or wind instruments of the horn family (e.g., French horn, horns in an orchestra).
The orchestra's horns played a stirring fanfare.
Synonyms
Noun 3
sound-making devices on vehicles used as warnings or signals (plural of car horn).
He sounded the horns to warn the cyclist.
Synonyms
Verb 1
third-person singular present of 'horn': to sound a horn; to toot or honk (intransitive or transitive use).
When the car swerved, he horns to get its attention.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/28 13:49