Cornuate

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Shaped like a horn, or having horn-like projections growing from its surface or body
2. Describing something curved and tapering like a horn, as in certain animal or plant structures
3. Bearing horns or horn-shaped parts, typically used in biology to describe a horned form

Etymology: Cornuate describes something shaped like a horn, or branching into horn-like projections. It comes from Latin "cornuatus", meaning "horn-shaped", built from "cornu" (horn) and the adjective-forming suffix "-atus", which gives English the familiar "-ate" ending seen in words like "ornate" and "separate". The root "cornu" is the same ancient word that gives English "cornea", the transparent covering of the eye, and "cornet", a small horn-shaped instrument. Its relatives run through many Latin words for horned animals and things with horn-like points, so the word's core image has stayed the same since it was first formed: something that has grown or been shaped into a horn.

Synonyms: horned, cornute, cornuted