Alicorn

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæ.lɪ.kɔɹn/

Definitions

1. A fantastical entity combining the traits of a unicorn and a winged horse, representing magical possibilities and often found in mythological contexts
2. A legendary figure that integrates elements of a unicorn with those of a flying horse, typically embodying themes of wonder and imagination
3. A mythical creature that possesses the features of both a unicorn and a Pegasus, often symbolizing purity and the power of flight

Etymology: The word "alicorn" came into English from Italian "alicorno", and its older sense was not a winged creature at all. It named the horn of a unicorn, the single spiral horn that medieval bestiaries attributed to the animal. Over the centuries the term was attached to the unicorn's whole body, and only later did it come to mean a winged version of the creature. The modern winged sense is a case of folk reinterpretation. Speakers heard the first part of the word as Latin "āla", meaning "wing", and read it as a blend of that word with "unicorn". Nothing in the Italian form supports the wing reading, so the link is a later back-formation of meaning rather than the word's true origin. The fantasy writer Piers Anthony's novel "Bearing an Hourglass" (1984) helped popularize this winged sense, and it is largely through fantasy fiction that "alicorn" now means a winged unicorn.