Monoceros
name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A unicorn. obsolete
"The ancients were most liberal with their descriptions of fabulous animals, and the Monoceros or Unicorn was a favourite subject with them; but I am not aware whether or no the account which Spencer gives has so early an origin."
- 2 A narwhal. obsolete
- 1 A winter constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a unicorn. It lies amid the Milky Way, just east of the constellation Orion.
Example
More examples"The ancients were most liberal with their descriptions of fabulous animals, and the Monoceros or Unicorn was a favourite subject with them; but I am not aware whether or no the account which Spencer gives has so early an origin."
Etymology
From Old French monoceros, from Latin monocerōs.
First recorded by the astronomer Jakob Bartsch in 1624, but possibly created earlier by Petrus Plancius. From Latin monocerōs (“unicorn”).
Related phrases
More for "monoceros"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.