a mythical creature resembling a horse, with a single horn in the center of its forehead: often symbolic of chastity or purity.
a heraldic representation of this animal, in the form of a horse with a lion's tail and with a long, straight, and spirally twisted horn.
(initial capital letter)Astronomy. the constellation Monoceros.
an animal mentioned in the Bible, Deuteronomy 33:17: now believed by some to be a description of a wild ox or rhinoceros.
a former gold coin of Scotland, first issued by James III in 1486, having an obverse bearing the figure of a unicorn.
Business. a relatively new company, usually less than ten years old, that is valued at $1 billion or more by public or private investors.
a person or thing that is rare and highly valued, or is a hypothetical ideal: Hiring unicorns is expensive, but their productivity can take your enterprise to the next level.Finding jeans that are comfortable and fashionable—that’s my unicorn.
Slang. a bisexual woman who joins an established heterosexual couple in a sexual encounter or relationship.
Idioms for unicorn
chasea / the unicorn, to pursue an unattainable object or impossible goal, especially when diverting effort or resources away from an existing commitment or practical plan.
Origin of unicorn
First recorded in 1200–1250; Middle English, from Old French unicorne, from the Latin adjective ūnicornis “one-horned” (used as a noun in the Vulgate and possibly referring to the rhinoceros), a loan translation from the Greek noun and adjective monókerōs, equivalent to uni- “one” + corn(ū) “horn” + -is adjective suffix; see uni-, horn
The unicorn squealed in fury and struck the hunter, catching him on its horn and hurling him thirty feet.
Space Prison|Tom Godwin
Unicorn is a sachem; he must give an example to his young men on the warpath.
The Trail-Hunter|Gustave Aimard
The horn of the unicorn was popularly regarded as the most marvellous of remedies.
Primitive Psycho-Therapy and Quackery|Robert Means Lawrence
The sale of the Unicorn, prudently managed, had brought about seven hundred thousand livres.
A Romance of the West Indies|Eugne Sue
It would leap like an unicorn, wouldn't it, if he played those beautiful things which he just played?
Hildegarde's Home|Laura E. Richards
British Dictionary definitions for unicorn
unicorn
/ (ˈjuːnɪˌkɔːn) /
noun
an imaginary creature usually depicted as a white horse with one long spiralled horn growing from its forehead
Old Testamenta two-horned animal, thought to be either the rhinoceros or the aurochs (Deuteronomy 33:17): mistranslation in the Authorized Version of the original Hebrew
Word Origin for unicorn
C13: from Old French unicorne, from Latin ūnicornis one-horned, from ūnus one + cornu a horn
What’s Happening With The Word “Unicorn”?What do Scotland, Silicon Valley, LGBTQ pride, and Jesus Christ all have in common? Unicorns. Yes, unicorns.
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Cultural definitions for unicorn
unicorn
A mythical animal resembling a small horse but with a long, straight horn growing out of its forehead. Often it was described as having the legs of a deer and the tail of a lion. Some sources claim it was visible only to virgins.