unicorn

The story

1. Latin · derived fromūnicornis
2. Old French · derived fromunicorne
3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromunicorne
4. Middle English · inherited fromunicorne
5. English todayunicorn

From Middle English unicorne, unikorn, from Anglo-Norman unicorne, Old French unicorne, and their source, Latin ūnicornis, (from ūnus (“one”) + cornū (“horn”)), a calque of Ancient Greek μονόκερως (monókerōs, “having one horn”, (from μόνος (mónos, “one”) + κέρας (kéras, “horn”))). Displaced native Old English ānhorn, itself a calque of the Latin term. First attested in the early 13th c. * Other senses from either rarity (e.g., possessing multiple skills) or by physical resemblance to having a horn (e.g., howitzer). The finance sense was coined by American investor Aileen Lee and first used in a 2013 article.