English
licorne
Licorne comes from French licorne ‘unicorn’, from Latin ūnicornis ‘One-horned’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘horn’.
- 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 CEūnicornis4‘One-horned’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400unicorne5‘unicorn’by way of Italian alicorno
- Frenchc. 1600–presentlicorne6‘unicorn’
- Englishearliest quotation 1824licorne6
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kornū
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin cornu
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin unicornis
- 4 Wiktionary, Old French unicorne
- 5 Wiktionary, French licorne
- 6 Wiktionary, English licorne
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1824, K. C. B. of the Royal Artillery: “But I think our new 24-pounder howitzer will be…”.
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 unicornis‘horn’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnicornisWiktionary, Old French unicorne‘One-horned’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400unicorneWiktionary, French licorne‘unicorn’by way of Italian alicorno
- Frenchc. 1600–presentlicorneWiktionary, English licorne‘unicorn’
- Englishearliest quotation 1824licorneWiktionary, English licorne. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1824, K. C. B. of the Royal Artillery: “But I think our new 24-pounder howitzer will be…”
The story
Shuvalov, who introduced this type of artillery piece.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘horn’
cheer, hart, horn, cerebral, crater, grail, migraine, carotid, procrastinate, cerebellum, cranium, cairn, keratin, cerebrum, rother, 49 more
through Proto-Italic *kornū ‘horn’
through Latin cornū ‘horn’
corny, cornea, cornet, 21 more
through Latin ūnicornis ‘One-horned’
Today it means
noun A type of muzzle-loading gun-howitzer used by the Russian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “licorne”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *kornū, Latin cornu, Latin unicornis, Old French unicorne, French licorne. 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- / licorne