unicorn

English
Unicorn with a maiden, fresco in Palazzo Farnese, Rome, probably by Domenichino, ca 1602 (1)

Etymology

From Middle English unicorne, unikorn, from Anglo-Norman unicorne, Old French unicorne, and their source, Latin ūnicornis, from ūnus (“one”) + cornū (“horn”). Other senses from either rarity (e.g., possessing multiple skills) or by physical resemblance to having a horn (e.g., howitzer).

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈjuːnɪkɔːn/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈjunɪkɔɹn/
  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun

unicorn (plural unicorns)

  1. A mythical beast resembling a horse or deer with a single, straight, spiraled horn projecting from its forehead.
    Hyponyms: pegacorn, unipeg, unisus
    Meronym: alicorn
    Holonym: blessing
  2. A heraldic representation of such a beast used as a charge or as a supporter; as in the arms of Great Britain and of Scotland.
  3. (historical) In various Bible translations, used to render the Latin unicornis or rhinoceros (representing Hebrew רְאֵם‎); a reem or wild ox.
  4. Any large beetle having a horn-like prominence on the head or prothorax, especially the Hercules beetle, Dynastes tityus.
  5. The larva of a unicorn moth.
  6. The kamichi, or unicorn bird.
  7. (military) A howitzer.
  8. (sexual slang) A single, usually bisexual woman who participates in swinging and/or polyamory.
  9. (finance) A startup company whose valuation has exceeded one billion U.S. dollars, which is solely backed by venture capitalists, and which has yet to have an IPO.
    Coordinate term: decacorn
    • 2017, Pongsak Hoontrakul, Economic Transformation and Business Opportunities in Asia, Springer (→ISBN), page 273:
      In May 2016, out of 163 global unicorns, China had 31, with a total valuation of $154 billion or about 26 percent of global unicorn valuation.
  10. (business) A person with multidisciplinary expertise (due to rarity and value), especially three or more skills in a young field such as UX design or data science (e.g., domain knowledge, statistics, and software engineering).
    • 2011 November 1, Braden Kowitz, “Hiring a designer: hunting the unicorn”, in Google Ventures‎:
      But I also think, “They’re looking for a unicorn — a magical designer who can solve all their problems.” It’s too bad unicorns don’t exist. … I have never met a designer who is an expert in all those skill areas. … Even if you find a unicorn designer with all those skills, actually doing all those things at your company is a huge amount of work.
    • 2015 October 3, Gil Press, “These Are The Skills You Need To (Eventually) Become A $240,000+ Unicorn Data Scientist”, in Forbes‎:
      He believes that good data scientists, “otherwise known as unicorn data scientists,” have three types of expertise.
  11. (attributive) Brilliantly multicoloured.
    unicorn smoothies

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Further reading

Middle English

Noun

unicorn

  1. Alternative form of unicorne
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