ūnicornis
masculine
The Latin word for unicorn is ūnicornis.
ūnicornis refers to a mythical horselike creature.
Meaning: mythical horselike creature (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a compound of ūnus, meaning one and cornu, meaning horn.
How does it change in a sentence?
ūnicornis is the nominative singular form of a third-declension noun.
Did you know?
- Roman naturalists believed the horn of a ūnicornis could neutralize poison. This belief persisted for centuries and led to the high value of 'unicorn horns' which were actually narwhal tusks.
- The word cornu does not only mean 'horn' in a biological sense, but was also the standard Latin word for a musical instrument, such as a trumpet.
- Medieval Latin authors often used ūnicornis as a symbol for Christ. In these texts, the creature's single horn represented the unity of the Father and the Son.
Examples in context
- Ūnicornis est animal mirabile.A unicorn is a wonderful animal.
- In fabula, ūnicornis in silva habitat.In the story, a unicorn lives in the forest.
- Vidimus picturam ūnicornis.We saw a picture of a unicorn.
Example conversation
Marcus and Claudia are looking at a book of myths.
- MarcusVide, ūnicornis est pulcher!Look, the unicorn is beautiful!
- ClaudiaIta, sed non est verus.Yes, but it is not real.
- MarcusVelim ūnicornem amicum habere.I wish I had a unicorn as a friend.
- ClaudiaHoc modo non possumus.We cannot do it that way.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “unicorn” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
