Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of 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}.