horn-mad

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Perhaps in reference to the figurative horns of a cuckold, who would be enraged at the moment of discovery.

Adjective[edit]

horn-mad (comparative more horn-mad, superlative most horn-mad)

  1. (obsolete) Furious; enraged.
    • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      If this should ever happen, thou wouldst be horn-mad.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=horn-mad&oldid=77952685"