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.
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2. A two-horned animal of some unknown kind, so called in the
Authorized Version of the Scriptures.
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Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the
furrow? --Job xxxix.
10.
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Note: The unicorn mentioned in the Scripture was probably the
urus. See the Note under Reem.
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3. (Zool.)
(a) Any large beetle having a hornlike prominence on the
head or prothorax.
(b) The larva of a unicorn moth.
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4. (Zool.) The kamichi; -- called also unicorn bird.
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5. (Mil.) A howitzer. [Obs.]
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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 (Zool.), the narwhal.
Unicorn moth (Zool.), a notodontian moth (Coelodasys
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 (Chamaelirium luteum). Both are used in
medicine.
Unicorn shell (Zool.), 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.
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Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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