Meanings
- not comparablerarebiologyBearing a horn, or horns, on the nose, as the rhinoceros does.
[S]ome Unicornes wee will allow even among inſects, as thoſe foure kinds of naſicornous Beetles described by Muffetus.
1646, Thomas Browne, “Of Unicornes hornes”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod, […], →OCLC, 3rd book, page 1662 more examples
A striking species of nasicornous beetle, reminding us of the giants of the tropics, is Xylotrupes dichotomus L., which appears to be distributed over the entire monsoon district.
1884, Johannes Justus Rein, Japan: Travels and Researches Undertaken at the Cost of the Prussian Government, page 201The Museum of Natural History of Paris possesses among its many curiosities a horned, or nasicornous, viper, specimens of which are very rare. […] The two horns that project above the nostrils have caused this reptile to be called “nasicornous.”
1893 February 16, “A Horned Reptile. Curious and Brilliant Snake Which Inhabits the West Coast of Africa.”, in William Hyde, Charles W[illiam] Penrose, editors, The Salt Lake Herald, volume XLVII, number 221, Salt Lake City, Ut.: The Herald Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 6, column 2
Origin
From Latin nasicornis + -ous.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
nasicornous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nasicornous
“nasicornous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nasicornous. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nasicornous,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nasicornous.
Source: nasicornous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.