Get Affordable VMs - excellent virtual server hosting


browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

unicornmore about unicorn

unicorn

 

  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Unicorn  \U"ni*corn\,  n.  [OE.  unicorne,  F.  unicorne,  L.  unicornis 
  one-horned,  having  a  single  horn;  unus  one  +  cornu  a  horn; 
  cf  L.  unicornuus  a  unicorn.  See  {One},  and  {Horn}.] 
  1.  A  fabulous  animal  with  one  horn;  the  monoceros;  --  often 
  represented  in  heraldry  as  a  supporter. 
 
  2.  A  two-horned  animal  of  some  unknown  kind  so  called  in  the 
  Authorized  Version  of  the  Scriptures. 
 
  Canst  thou  bind  the  unicorn  with  his  band  in  the 
  furrow?  --Job  xxxix 
  10. 
 
  Note:  The  unicorn  mentioned  in  the  Scripture  was  probably  the 
  urus.  See  the  Note  under  {Reem}. 
 
  3.  (Zo["o]l.) 
  a  Any  large  beetle  having  a  hornlike  prominence  on  the 
  head  or  prothorax. 
  b  The  larva  of  a  unicorn  moth. 
 
  4.  (Zo["o]l.)  The  kamichi;  --  called  also  {unicorn  bird}. 
 
  5.  (Mil.)  A  howitzer.  [Obs.] 
 
  {Fossil  unicorn},  or  {Fossil  unicorn's  horn}  (Med.),  a 
  substance  formerly  of  great  repute  in  medicine;  --  named 
  from  having  been  supposed  to  be  the  bone  or  the  horn  of 
  the  unicorn. 
 
  {Unicorn  fish},  {Unicorn  whale}  (Zo["o]l.),  the  narwhal. 
 
  {Unicorn  moth}  (Zo["o]l.),  a  notodontian  moth  ({C[oe]lodasys 
  unicornis})  whose  caterpillar  has  a  prominent  horn  on  its 
  back  --  called  also  {unicorn  prominent}. 
 
  {Unicorn  root}  (Bot.),  a  name  of  two  North  American  plants, 
  the  yellow-flowered  colicroot  ({Aletris  farinosa})  and  the 
  blazing  star  ({Cham[ae]lirium  luteum}).  Both  are  used  in 
  medicine. 
 
  {Unicorn  shell}  (Zo["o]l.),  any  one  of  several  species  of 
  marine  gastropods  having  a  prominent  spine  on  the  lip  of 
  the  shell.  Most  of  them  belong  to  the  genera  {Monoceros} 
  and  {Leucozonia}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  unicorn 
  n  :  an  imaginary  creature  represented  as  a  white  horse  with  a 
  long  horn  growing  from  its  forehead 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Unicorn 
  described  as  an  animal  of  great  ferocity  and  strength  (Num. 
  23:22,  R.V.,  "wild  ox,"  marg.,  "ox-antelope;"  24:8;  Isa.  34:7, 
  R.V.,  "wild  oxen"),  and  untamable  (Job  39:9).  It  was  in  reality 
  a  two-horned  animal;  but  the  exact  reference  of  the  word  so 
  rendered  (reem)  is  doubtful.  Some  have  supposed  it  to  be  the 
  buffalo;  others  the  white  antelope,  called  by  the  Arabs  rim. 
  Most  probably,  however,  the  word  denotes  the  Bos  primigenius 
  ("primitive  ox"),  which  is  now  extinct  all  over  the  world.  This 
  was  the  auerochs  of  the  Germans,  and  the  urus  described  by 
  Caesar  (Gal.  Bel.,  vi.28)  as  inhabiting  the  Hercynian  forest. 
  The  word  thus  rendered  has  been  found  in  an  Assyrian  inscription 
  written  over  the  wild  ox  or  bison,  which  some  also  suppose  to  be 
  the  animal  intended  (comp.  Deut.  33:17;  Ps  22:21;  29:6;  92:10).




more about unicorn