unicorn
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unicorn
- /ˈjuː.nɪ.kɔːn/ UK
- /ˈju.nɪ.kɔɹn/ US
Where it comes from
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.
noun unicorns
-
A mythical horselike creature with a horn on its forehead, supposed to be extremely rare and to be drawn to virgins and other chaste maidens.
[Seb.] A liuing Drolerie: now I will beleeue / That there are Vnicornes:[…]
Similar: monoceros
- In various Bible translations, used to render the Latin unicornis or rhinoceros (representing Hebrew רְאֵם): a reem or wild ox. God brought him forth out of Egypt, he hath as it were the ſtrength of an Vnicorne: he ſhall eate vp the nations his enemies, and ſhall breake their bones, and pierce them thorow with his arrowes.
- Any large beetle having a horn-like prominence on the head or prothorax, especially the Hercules beetle, Dynastes tityus.
- A caterpillar, Schizura unicornis, with a large thorn-like spine on the back near its head.
- The kamichi, or unicorn bird.
- A Siberian unicorn, †Elasmotherium sibiricum.
- An Asian unicorn, or saola, Pseudoryx nghetinhensis.
- A howitzer. The Sixth Inniskilling Dragoons and the First Battalion Royal Scots will be in attendance, and there will be unicorns, carricks, pursuivants, heralds, mace-bearers, ushers, and pages, together with the Purse-bearer, and the Lyon King-of-Arms, and the national anthem, and the royal salute
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Someone or something that is rare and hard to find.
On Capitol Hill, Mr. Manchin is something of a unicorn — the only national Democrat from his ruby-red state — and acts and votes accordingly.
Similar: black swan, hen's tooth, lightning in a bottle, one in a million, rara avis, rare bird, rarity, rocking horse shit, unicorn
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A single, usually bisexual woman who participates in swinging or polyamory.
Similar: black swan, hen's tooth, lightning in a bottle, one in a million, rara avis, rare bird, rarity, rocking horse shit, unicorn
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A person with multidisciplinary expertise, especially a laundry list of three or more skills in a young field such as UX design or data science (e.g., domain knowledge, statistics, and software engineering).
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 t
Similar: black swan, hen's tooth, lightning in a bottle, one in a million, rara avis, rare bird, rarity, rocking horse shit, unicorn, purple squirrel
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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.
As the price of Web hosting plummeted and PCs and cell phones proliferated, college and grad-school dropouts like Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Page and Sergey Brin could suddenly conjure unicorns on their laptops.
Similar: black swan, hen's tooth, lightning in a bottle, one in a million, rara avis, rare bird, rarity, rocking horse shit, unicorn
-
A fan with serious aspirations to become romantically involved with a VTuber (i.e., the streamer behind the avatar).
Similar: black swan, hen's tooth, lightning in a bottle, one in a million, rara avis, rare bird, rarity, rocking horse shit, unicorn
- Being many (especially pastel) colours; multicoloured. unicorn smoothies
- A 15th-century Scottish gold coin worth 18 shillings, bearing the image of a unicorn.
verb unicorns · unicorning · unicorned
- To participate in a sexual threesome as a bisexual addition to an established heterosexual couple. Katja*, 27, has unicorned on two separate occasions.
- To exceed a valuation of one billion U.S. dollars, while solely backed by venture capitalists. Since Waze, Soluto and Onavo, both Israeli startups, have had great exits in consumer tech, and Wix “unicorned” through its IPO.
adjective
- Having one horn.
- Rare and hard to find.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: licorne, kanchana, unicorn beast, alicorn, monoceros, bicorn, unisus, chinese unicorn, cavicorn, horn, pegacorn, horned horse, narwhale, urus, reem, elkhorn
Translations
Every language
noun mythical horselike creature
| Español | unicornio |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 유니콘 yunikon, 일각수 ilgaksu |
| 日本語 | 麒麟 kirin, 一角獣 ikkakujū, ユニコーン yunikōn, 一角馬 ikkakuba |
| 中文 | 獨角獸 /独角兽 dújiǎoshòu |
| हिन्दी | इकसिंगा iksiṅgā |
| Kiswahili | farasi-pembemoja |
| Português | unicórnio, licorne |
| Français | licorne |
| Deutsch | Einhorn |
| Italiano | unicorno, liocorno |
| Ελληνικά | μονόκερος monókeros |
| Română | unicorn, licorn, inorog |
| Русский | единоро́г jedinoróg |
| Tiếng Việt | kì lân |
| العربية | أُحَادِيُّ القَرْن ʔuḥādiyyu l-qarn, حَرِيش ḥarīš, يُونِيكُورْن yūnīkūrn |
| עברית | חַד־קֶרֶן chad-qeren |
noun startup company
| Español | unicornio |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 獨角獸企業 /独角兽企业, 獨角獸 /独角兽 dújiǎoshòu |
| Français | licorne |
Talk about this word "unicorn." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/unicorn. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. unicorn. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/unicorn "unicorn." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/unicorn.Cite this
@misc{unicorn_2026,
title = {unicorn},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/unicorn},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
