Cornute

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Furnished with horns or horn-like projections growing from the head or body of an animal
2. Bearing horns, or structures shaped like horns, on the head or another part of the body
3. Describing a creature or object that is equipped with horn-shaped growths or protrusions

Etymology: Cornute comes straight from the Latin "cornutus," meaning "horned," which was built on "cornu," the Latin word for horn. The Romans used the adjective for animals and for anything with horn-like projections, and the English word carries that same literal sense: an animal or creature that bears horns or horn-shaped growths. The Latin root is the reason English has so many horn-related words. "Cornu" is also the source of "cornucopia" (literally "horn of plenty") and of "cornea," the transparent covering of the eye, which was named for its hornlike toughness. Cornute stays close to the original image, with no figurative drift attached to it.

Synonyms: horned, cornuted, antlered

Antonyms: hornless, polled