English
biscornu
Biscornu comes from French biscornu ‘bizarre’, from cornu ‘horn’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-1‘horn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱorh₂u1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kornū2‘horn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcornū3‘horn’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcornūtus4‘horned, having horns’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcornu5‘horn’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbiscornu5‘bizarre’
- Englishtodaybiscornu5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kornū
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin cornu
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin cornutus
- 4 Wiktionary, French cornu
- 5 Wiktionary, English biscornu
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kornū‘horn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱorh₂uWiktionary, Proto-Italic *kornūreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kornūWiktionary, Latin cornu‘horn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcornūWiktionary, Latin cornutus‘horn’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcornūtusWiktionary, French cornu‘horned, having horns’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcornuWiktionary, English biscornu‘horn’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbiscornuWiktionary, English biscornu‘bizarre’
- EnglishtodaybiscornuWiktionary, English biscornu
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘horn’
cheer, hart, horn, cerebral, crater, grail, migraine, carotid, procrastinate, cerebellum, cairn, cranium, keratin, cerebrum, rother, 49 more
through Proto-Italic *kornū ‘horn’
through Latin cornū ‘horn’
Today it means
noun A kind of ornamental pincushion, usually made out of Aida cloth or linen, and decorated with embroidery.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “biscornu”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *kornū, Latin cornu, Latin cornutus, French cornu. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- / biscornu