tricorn, a. and n.
(ˈtraɪkɔːn)
Also (as or after Fr.) tricorne.
[ad. F. tricorne or L. tricornis three-horned, f. tri-, tri- + L. cornū horn.]
A. adj. Three-horned; having three horns or horn-like projections; spec. applied to a cocked hat with the brim turned up on three sides.
| 1844 Hoblyn Dict. Med. Terms, Tricorne,..a term applied to each lateral ventricle of the brain, from its three-horned shape. 1864 M. J. Higgins Ess. (1875) 201 With their tricorn hats they looked very much like Knaves of Spades. 1883 A. Wallis in N. & Q. 6th Ser. VIII. 363/1 A white bob-wig surmounted by a tricorne hat completes the ordinary costume of a gentleman living in the second Georgian period. 1909 Daily Graphic LXXX. 13/1 An ermine tricorne hat. |
B. n.
1. An (imaginary) creature with three horns.
| 1760 Impostors Detected iii. viii. II. 78 These creatures were distinguished..by a lump on their heads,..supported by three small protuberances; from whence they were called Tri-corns. 1823 [see bicorn]. 1895 F. E. Hulme Nat. Hist. Lore & Leg. 147 What can have..suggested the idea of such a very unpleasant tricorn, it is impossible to say. |
2. A tricorn hat: see A.
| 1876 G. Meredith Beauch. Career ii, A shocking bad, bald, brown-rubbed old tricorne. 1903 J. Conrad & Hueffer Romance v. i, He wore a large and shadowy tricorn. |
So † triˈcornous a. (obs. rare—0), three-horned.
| 1656 in Blount Glossogr. |