Unicorn Meaning
/ˈjuː.nɪ.kɔːn/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA mythical horse, widely believed to exist until the 17th century, with a single, straight, spiraled horn projecting from its forehead.
nounA mythical horse-like creature with a horn on its forehead.
Sentence Examples
The English love the unicorn as much as they love the lion.
The unicorn is a fabulous monster.
Manny wants to be a unicorn so girls will ride him.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the story, a magical horse with a horn on its head is called a ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In many old fairy tales, a ____ is a mythical creature that looks like a horse with a single horn today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English unicorne, unikorn, from Anglo-Norman unicorne, Old French unicorne, and their source, Latin ūnicornis, from ūnus (“one”) + cornū (“horn”). Displaced native Old English ānhorn, itself a calque. Other senses from either rarity (e.g., possessing multiple skills) or by physical resemblance to having a horn (e.g., howitzer). The finance sense was coined by American investor Aileen Lee and first used in a 2013 article.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[Seb.] A liuing Drolerie: now I will beleeue / That there are Vnicornes:[…]"
— 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
"The unicorn who may be touched and tamed only by a chaste virgin is a lunar symbol of the ancient religion of Europe."
— 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 106:
"God brought him forth out of Egypt, he hath as it were the ſtrength of an Vnicorne: he ſhall eate vp the nations his enemies, and ſhall breake their bones, and pierce them thorow with his arrowes."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 24:8, column 1:
"The Sixth Inniskilling Dragoons and the First Battalion Royal Scots will be in attendance, and there will be unicorns, carricks, pursuivants, heralds, mace-bearers, ushers, and pages, together with the Purse-bearer, and the Lyon King-of-Arms, and the national anthem, and the royal salute"
— 1898, Kate Douglas Wiggin, chapter 8, in Penelope’s Progress […], Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
"On Capitol Hill, Mr. Manchin is something of a unicorn — the only national Democrat from his ruby-red state — and acts and votes accordingly."
— 2022 July 15, Emily Cochrane, “Manchin Dangles Hopes of a Future Compromise. Democrats Revolt.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the story, a magical horse with a horn on its head is called a ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In many old fairy tales, a ____ is a mythical creature that looks like a horse with a single horn today.