unicorn
(ˈjuːnɪkɔːn)
Forms: 3–7 uni-, 4–6 uny-, 4–7 vni-, vnycorne (6 inny-, ine-; Sc. 5 iny-, owni-, 6 wnicorne); 4–5 vny-, 4–6 vni-, 5 unycorn, 5– unicorn (5–6 vnykorn, 6 vnykhorn).
[a. AF., OF. (mod.F.) unicorne (= Pg. unicorne, Pg. and Sp. unicornio, It. unicorno), or directly ad. their source L. ūnicorn-, ūnicornis having one horn (also in late Lat. as n.), f. ūn-us uni- + cōrnu horn. Cf. late L. ūnicornuus, med.L. unicornus, -(i)um ns., from the same source.
The word was corrupted in OF. to licorne (the usual form in mod.F.), lincorne, etc., It. liocorno, Pg. (a)licorne, etc.]
I. 1. A fabulous and legendary animal usually regarded as having the body of a horse with a single horn projecting from its forehead (cf. 2 note); the monoceros of the ancients.
The unicorn has at various times been identified or confused with the rhinoceros, with various species of antelope, or with other animals having a horn (or horns) or horn-like projection from the head. According to Pliny (Nat. Hist. viii. xxi. §31) it had a body resembling that of a horse, the head of a deer, the feet of an elephant, and the tail of a lion, with one black horn projecting ‘two cubits’ from the middle of the forehead.
The horn of this animal was reputed to possess medicinal or magical properties, esp. as an antidote to or preventive of poison: see unicorn's horn.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 120 Mon wroð is wulf, oðer leun, oðer unicorne. 13.. K. Alis. 6710 (Bodl. MS.), Ȝitt þou shalt habbe sex hundreþ Rinoceros..And two hundreþ vnicornes. c 1315 Shoreham Poems v. 113 Of hyre barme hyt was god game, Þer-inne þe vnicorn weks tame Þat er þan was so wylde. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 159 Þere beeþ also..vnycornes [L. rhinoceros], camels, pardes [etc.]. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. clv, The lufare vnicorne, That voidis venym with his euoure horne. c 1511 1st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) p. xxxiii/2 These vnicornes slee many Lyons, and the Lyon sleeth the vnicorne with subtylnes. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. v. 10 Like as a Lyon, whose imperiall powre A prowd rebellious Vnicorne defies. 1609 Dekker Gull's Horn-bk. ii. 12 The Unicorne, whose horne is worth halfe a City. 1657 Trapp Comm. Job xxxix. 9 This is the..Unicorn... A very fierce and strong creature it is; and now adayes very rare, but anciently more common. 1735 Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia, Descr. ii. 51 In the Province of Agaus, has been seen the Unicorn, that Beast so much talk'd of, and so little known. 1801 Monthly Rev. XXXV. 351 On the probability of the existence of an Unicorn. 1843 De Quincey Ceylon Wks. 1859 XII. 8 The whole traditionary character of the unicorn as the antagonist..of the lion. 1895 J. G. Millais Breath fr. Veldt 133 Any one who has seen a wild sable antelope galloping cannot fail to be struck by its resemblance to the unicorn. |
b. Used in
ME. versions of the OT. to render the Vulgate
ūnicornis or
rhīnocerōs (
Gr. µονόκερως) as translations of
Heb. r⊇'em (also
rēym), and retained in various later versions (but translated by ‘wild-ox’ in the Revised Bible). See
reem.
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter xxi. 22 (xxii. 21), Sauf me fra mouth of lioun es, And fra hornes of vnicornes mi mekenes. [Also versions a 1340–1611.] 1382 Wyclif Numb. xxiii. 22 Whos strengthe is lijk to an vnycorn. [Also versions 1388–1611.] c 1580 Sidney Psalms xxii. xiii, Show to heare me, By aiding, when fierce Vnicornes come neere me. 1639 Sir W. Mure Ps. xxii, Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 89 From the hornes of vnicornes Thine eare (Lord) found I have. 1696 Tate & Brady Ps. xxix. 6 They..leap, like Hinds that bounding go, Or Unicorns in youthful play. |
c. In
fig. or allusive use.
In
quot. 1607
= ‘a cuckold’.
| 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys 212 [Let] James of Scotlande..haue the forwarde, haue ye no disdayne Nor indignation, for neuer kynge was borne, That of ought of warre can shewe the vnycorne. 1592 G. Harvey Four Lett. 52 The only Vnicorne of the Muses. 1607 Dekker Northw. Hoe iv. F j b, Fetherstone..it seemes makes her husband a vnicorne. 1826 Galt Last of Lairds vi. 53 Bridle the unicorn o' your impatience. |
† d. Horn reputed to be that of the unicorn prepared as an embellishment or ornament.
Obs.| a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1559) Y ij b, It was of wood Libanus, and round about garnished with unicorne. 1599 Peele David & Bethsabe H ij, Shee that in chaines of pearle and vnicorne, Leads at her traine the ancient golden world. |
2. A figure, picture, or representation of this animal,
esp. in
Her. either as a charge or more usually as a supporter of the Royal Arms of Great Britain (or Scotland).
Usually depicted heraldically as having the head, neck, and body of a horse, the legs of a deer and the tail of a lion, with a straight and spirally twisted horn growing out of the forehead.
| c 1400 Emaré 164 The fayr mayden her by-forn Was portrayed an vnykorn, Wyth hys horn so hye. 1488 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 85 A couering..browdin with thrissillis and a vnicorne. 1549 in Gage Hengrave (1822) 127, iij cuppes with a cover chased, with unicorns on the top. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry vi. vii. 280 Supported by a Lion..and an Vnicorne Luna, gorged with a Crowne. 1766 in Seton Law Her. Scotland (1863) 442 His Majesty's royal coat-of-arms supported on the right side by a unicorn with an imperial crown over the head. 1789 Mrs. Piozzi Journ. France, etc. II. 221 The family crest, a unicorn, made in white marble. 1813 Gentl. Mag. LXXXIII. 37/2 With supporters (lion and unicorn) of the Royal arms. 1875 W. McIlwraith Guide Wigtownshire 55 Here is an escutcheon bearing two unicorns and a lion rampant and the crown. |
3. Sc. The specific designation of one of the pursuivants of the court of the Lyon King of Arms. See
pursuivant 1.
| 1445 Exchequer Rolls Scot. V. 204 Quia Unicorn signifer regis illam terram habuit ex concessione regis. 1473–4 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 52 Item gevin to Vnicorne herald,..to his expensis, x li. 1546 Ibid. IX. 33 To Petir Thomson, alias Unicorne pursevant. 1636 Reg. Privy Council Scot. Ser. ii. VI. 605 The deceased George Wast, Unicorn pursuivant. 1662 Ibid. Ser. iii. I. 259 Leyes..was charged by William Malcolm, Unicorn pursuivant, to compear this day. 1742 Nisbet Syst. Heraldry II. iv. xvi. 171 As for Pursevants, they are also for most Part locally denominate, Unicorn only excepted. 1863 Seton Law Her. Scotland 38 As in the case of the Heralds, the Pursuivants are also six in number, and bear the names of Kintyre, Dingwall, Carrick, Bute, Ormond, and Unicorn. |
4. A Scottish gold coin current in the 15th and 16th centuries at the value of 18 shillings Scots; so called from the figure of the unicorn stamped upon its obverse. Also
half unicorn. Now
Hist.| 1487 Exchequer Rolls Scot. IX. 549 In denariis aureis vocatis unicornys. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxvi. 78 Vpon the heid of it is hecht Bayth unicornis, and crownis of wecht. 1538 Aberd. Reg. XVI. (Jam.), Ane vnicorn gud & sufficient gold. 1845 Lindsay Coinage Scot. 137 The Unicorns generally weigh about fifty-eight grains,..the half Unicorns in proportion. 1887 E. Burns Coinage Scotl. II. 151 The coinages of unicorns that took place under James V. |
† b. Used
attrib. as the designation of a weight, equivalent to about one-eighth of an ounce troy.
| 1506 Extr. Aberdeen Reg. (1844) I. 434 Ane corss of gold, weyand half ane unce, and half ane unicorn weicht. 1560 St. Giles Charters (1859) p. xlvii, Foure vnce, ane half, and ane vnicorne weicht of gold. |
5. Astr. (With capital initial.) A southern constellation lying between Canis Minor and Canis Major.
This constellation was noted by Hevelius in his
Prodromus Astron. (1690) pp. 118, 294, under the name of
Monoceros.
| 1771 Encycl. Brit. I. 487/2 Hevelius's Constellations made out of the unformed Stars [include]..Monocerus, The Unicorn. 1868 Lockyer Guillemin's Heavens (ed. 3) 382 The northern half of the Milky Way extends..to the Unicorn at the altitude of and near the belt of Orion. |
6. A carriage, coach, etc., drawn by three horses, two abreast and one leader; hence usually, a team of three horses so arranged. (
Cf. 11 b.)
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar T., Unicorn, a coach drawn by three horses. 1800 M. Edgeworth Belinda xvi, She drove in her unicorn to Oakly-park. 1866 Freeman in Life & Lett. (1895) I. 342, I would put on the children's pony..in front of my two, so as to make an unicorn. 1889 Evening News 28 Aug 3/2 Their demands of 24s. for a single horse, 28s. for a pair, and 30s. for a ‘unicorn’. |
| transf. 1860 R. F. Burton Centr. Afr. xiii. II. 38 We crossed as usual on a ‘unicorn’ of negroids, the upper part of the body supported by two men, and the feet resting upon the shoulders of a third. 1887 Cyclists' Tour. Cl. Gaz. May 215/1 The unicorn..is made up of a[n]..ordinary bicycle front-wheel coupled to a..sociable. |
b. quasi-adv.| 1859 Habits of Gd. Society v. 200 You will seldom be called upon to drive tandem, unicorn, or four in hand. 1863 M. E. Braddon Aurora Floyd v, There were more lofty accomplishments than driving unicorn or shooting..game. |
II. † 7. The one-horned rhinoceros.
Obs.| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiv. ix. (Bodl. MS.), [In] þat londe [sc. Ethiopia] beþ..þe rynocerota þat is þe vnicorne, a beste wiþ oon horne. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 22 Oct. 1684, I went..to see the Rhinoceros, or Unicorn, being the first that I suppose was ever brought into England. |
8. As the name of a fish, shell, etc., having a projecting horn or horn-like process, or regarded as resembling the fabulous unicorn in some other respect.
Cf. monoceros 2 and 4.
A few examples other than those illustrated here are recorded in American Dicts. from 1891 onwards.
† a. (See
quot.)
Obs.| 1668 Charleton Onomast. 123 Monoceros Clusii, the little Vnicorn, or Sawfish. |
b. The narwhal or sea-unicorn.
Named also
unicorn-fish,
-whale, and
abbrev. unie.
| 1694 Marten's Voy. Spitzbergen in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. II. 126 The Unicorn is but seldom seen in these parts. 1745 tr. Egede's Descr. Greenland 76 Among the different Kinds of Whales, some reckon the Unicorn, as they commonly call him,..but his right Name is Nar-Whale. 1823 W. Scoresby Jrnl. 39 Here we saw a considerable number of ‘unicorns’ (narwals). |
c. A unicorn-shell. (See 11.)
| c 1711 Petiver Gazophyl. vi. liii, Grass girdled Indian Unicorn, Cat. 263. A beautiful Shell and rarely met with. |
9. Zool. A species having one horn.
| 1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 312 There appear to be three existing species of rhinoceroses:—1. That of India: a unicorn;..—2. That of the Cape: a bicorn. |
III. 10. attrib. and
Comb., as
unicorn bone (
i.e. horn),
unicorn horse,
unicorn-ivory;
unicorn-crested,
unicorn-like adjs.| 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes D iv, Ther is summe contre that a litil yuory or vnycorne bone is bought for a grete somme of gold. 1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 306/1 The..Onager, figured..with a unicorn-like horn in the midst of its forehead. 1843 Ibid. XXVI. 3 Strabo..refers to Unicorn horses with the heads of deer. 1853 R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour xlix, The unicorn-crested gates, with tea-caddy looking lodges. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. II. xiv. 141 The natives carried no arms but the long knife and their unicorn-ivory lances. |
11. Special combs., chiefly in the names of animals, birds, fishes, plants, etc., which are characterized by a long projecting horn-like process or spine regarded as resembling the horn of the unicorn:
unicorn acanthurus (see
quot. and
unicorn-fish c);
unicorn auk (see
quot.);
unicorn-bird, the horned screamer,
Palamedea cornuta;
unicorn file-fish (see
quot.);
† unicorn guard Fencing, a guard in which the sword is advanced well to the front of the fencer;
unicorn hawk (
-moth),
hornbill (see
quots.);
unicorn-moth, the North American moth,
Cœlodasys unicornis;
unicorn narwhal = sense 8 b;
unicorn-plant U.S., a name for various North American plants,
esp. Martynia proboscidea, the capsule of which terminates in two horn-like spines;
unicorn-root U.S. (see
quots.);
unicorn-shell, a marine gasteropod having a horn-like lip projecting from the shell, now
esp. one belonging to the genus
Monoceros;
unicorn whale = sense 8 b.
| 1803 Shaw Gen. Zool. IV. 374 *Unicorn Acanthurus. Acanthurus Unicornis... From the front proceeds a strong, conical, horn-shaped process. |
| 1884 Coues North Amer. Birds 805 Ceratorhina monocerata. *Unicorn Auk. Horn-bill Auk. |
| 1681 Grew Musæum i. §iv. ii. 65 The *Unicorne Bird [is]..Horned on his Forehead (with some likeness) as the Unicorne is pictur'd. 1863 Bates Nat. Amazon I. 277 The Curicáca..was soon joined by a unicorn bird..; whose harsh screams [etc.]. |
| 1804 Shaw Gen. Zool. V. ii. 399 *Unicorn File-fish. Balistes Monoceros... Immediately over the head..is a very strong..spine of considerable length. |
| 1617 J. Swetnam Sch. Sci. Defence 126 An other very sure and dangerous guard at the Backe⁓sword, called the *Vnicorne guard, or the fore-hand guard. 1711 Wylde Eng. Master Defence 23 The Medium Unicorn or Center Guard, is made thus. |
| 1832 J. Rennie Consp. Butterfl. & M. 24 The *Unicorn Hawk (Sphinx Convolvuli, Linnæus) appears in September. 1834 T. Brown Butterflies & Moths I. 96 Two fine males of the Sphinx Convolvuli (Unicorn Hawk-moth). |
| 1811 Shaw Gen. Zool. VIII. 11 *Unicorn Hornbill. [Buceros Monoceros.].. The casque is prolonged in front into a kind of horn. |
| 1891 Cent. Dict. s.v., Larva of *Unicorn-moth. |
| 1813 Bingley Anim. Biog. (ed. 4) II. 1 The *Unicorn Narwal, or Sea Unicorn. |
| 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 189 *Unicorn [plant] (Aletris farinosa). 1845–50 A. H. Lincoln Lect. Bot. ii. 110/1 Helonias diœcia, scape leafy... Unicorn plant. 1847 Darlington Amer. Weeds, etc. (1860) 222 M. proboscidea..Long-beaked Martynia. Unicorn Plant. 1891 H. Herman His Angel 6 Woodbine, unicorn plant, and wild currant surged all about it. |
| 1846 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. (1850) 559 Helonias dioica, Ph. (Veratrum luteum. Linn.) *Unicorn Root. 1847 Webster, Unicorn-root, a popular name of two plants, viz. Chamælirium Carolinianum [= Helonias dioica], to which this name was first applied, and Aletris farinosa..; both used in medicine. 1891 Cent. Dict., Unicorn-root, the blazing star, Aletris farinosa. |
| c 1711 Petiver Gazophyl. vi. lv, A *Unicorn Shell with Bugle Twirls. Ibid. viii. lxxv, Small Unicorn-shell, with rugged Twirls and Waves between. 1888 Cassell's Encycl. Dict., Monoceros,..Unicorn-shell; a genus of prosobranchiate gasteropods..peculiar to the west coast of America. |
| 1668 Charleton Onomast. 168 Balæna Monoceros, Vnicornu Marinum,..the *Vnicorn Whale. 1694 Acc. Sev. Late Voy. p. xix, The Monoceros or Unicorn Whale. 1858 Baird Cycl. Nat. Sci. 199/1 The..unicorn whale, Monodon Monoceros, has no teeth in the lower jaw. |
b. Attrib. in sense 6, as
unicorn carman,
unicorn fashion,
unicorn omnibus (
attrib.),
unicorn team.
| 1856 Morton Cycl. Agric. II. 726 A unicorn team is two abreast and one in front. 1877 ‘C. Bede’ Figaro at Hastings 47 Some [wagonettes] with four horses, some with three (unicorn fashion). 1884 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Melb. Mem. i. 14 Frank Liardet is driving his unicorn omnibus team from the lonely beach. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 6 Sept. 1/3 A ‘unicorn carman’..means ‘one who drives three horses’. |
† 12. Passing into
adj. Made a unicorn or cuckold (
cf. sense 1 c above).
Obs.—1| 1603 Dekker Wonderfull Yeare E 4 The vnicorne cobler being ouer head and eares in sleepe. |