monoceros

See also: Monoceros

English

Etymology

From Old French monoceros, from Latin monocerōs.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /məˈnɒsəɹəs/

Noun

monoceros (plural monoceroses)

1. (obsolete) A unicorn.
   • 1852 June 19, George Bell, editor, Notes and Queries‎^[1], volume 5, number 138:

     The ancients were most liberal with their descriptions of fabulous animals, and the Monoceros or Unicorn was a favourite subject with them; but I am not aware whether or no the account which Spencer gives has so early an origin.

2. (obsolete) A narwhal.

Derived terms

• monoceros beetle

Related terms

• monocerous

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *men-der.

Proto-Hellenic *mónwos

Ancient Greek μόνος (mónos)

Ancient Greek μονο- (mono-)

Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

?

Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-der.

Proto-Hellenic *kérats

Ancient Greek κέρας (kéras)

Ancient Greek μονόκερως (monókerōs)bor.

Latin monoceros

Borrowed from Ancient Greek μονόκερως (monókerōs).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [mɔˈnɔ.kɛ.roːs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [moˈnɔː.t͡ʃe.ros]

Noun

monocerōs m (genitive monocerōtis); third declension

1. (fantasy, mythology) A unicorn
2. (New Latin) Used attributively as a specific epithet; one-horned.

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	monocerōs	monocerōtēs
genitive	monocerōtis	monocerōtum
dative	monocerōtī	monocerōtibus
accusative	monocerōtem	monocerōtēs
ablative	monocerōte	monocerōtibus
vocative	monocerōs	monocerōtēs

Synonyms

• (unicorn): ūnicornis

Descendants

• → English: monoceros
• → Spanish: monocerote (learned)

References

• “monoceros”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “monoceros”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.