cornucopia en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ ? Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-der. Proto-Italic *kornū Latin cornū Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin co- Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-der. Proto-Italic *opis Latin ops Latin cōps Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin cōpia Latin cornūcōpiabor. English cornucopia Borrowed from Latin cornūcōpia.
Meanings
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(Greek, countable, uncountable) A goat's horn endlessly overflowing with fruit, flowers and grain; or full of whatever its owner wanted: or, an image of a such a horn, either in two or three dimensions.
The three cornucopiae which branch out to hold the candles are apparently unparalleled and this in itself offers some encouragement for regarding the pieces as by Giuseppe, for the majority of his designs seem to have been cast once only (counting for this purpose a pair as a unique item, as with the lower parts of the Victoria and Albert Museum firedogs).
1981, Charles Avery, Studies in European Sculpture, Christie’s, →ISBN, page 66:There are other mysteries expressed by the bison horn, the Paleolithic original of which the classical cornucopia is a copy: the horn of plenty is the universal vulva from which emerge all the creatures of life, plants, animals, and humans.
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 105:It soon came: as they were on their way to a transparency of their majesties, not a little larger than life—with Bellona, in a very handsome helmet, on one side, and Peace, with a cornucopia and a full blown wreath of roses, on the other—the path was interrupted by a little knot of gentlemen.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Fête”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 59:A head of Trajan, between two cornucopiæ, under which is a winged foot, with a caduceus and a dolphin.
1851, B[ram] Hertz, Catalogue of the Collection of Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Indian, Peruvian and Mexican Antiquities, London: […], page 46:The two cornucopiae carried by the figure likely identify her as Isis, but they also make clear her inanimate status.
2021, Stephanie Pearson, “[The Lure of Egyptian Treasures] Egyptian Gods as Lamp Stands”, in The Triumph and Trade of Egyptian Objects in Rome: Collecting Art in the Ancient Mediterranean, De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 69:So far as Swedenborg’s elucidation extends, it is comprised in seven groupings of this family; and, possibly, the Hebraic forms of the several names which are included in them, may at some future period, like so many cornucopiæ of wisdom, yield abundance of precious fruit to the Biblical student.
1849, Elihu Rich, A Biographical Sketch of Emanuel Swedenborg: With an Account of His Works, London: E. Rich, […], page 139:Device, an anchor held by a hand from the clouds: behind the anchor are a kind of brackets, in the form of cornucopiæ, croſſed; […]
1786, Typographical Antiquities: or An Historical Account of the Origin and Progress of Printing in Great Britain and Ireland: […], volume II, London: […] [F]or the Editor, and sold by Mr. T. Payne and Son, […], page 1163:On these the details of the cornucopiae resemble those familiar in the Hellenistic world: from the horn, filleted and filled to overflowing with bunches of grapes, […]
1975, Yaʻaḳov Meshorer, Nabataean Coins, Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, page 25:
- (countable, uncountable) A hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things.
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(countable, uncountable) An abundance or plentiful supply.
These days, thanks to the cornucopia of online dance classes and tutorials, you can almost imagine yourself to be a dancer.
2020 April 21, Marina Harss, “Twist, Bend, Reach, Step: A Merce Cunningham Solo Anyone Can Try”, in The New York Times:The store provided a veritable cornucopia of modern gadgets.
Despite its sparse syntax, the expressiveness and flexibility of the λ-calculus make it a cornucopia of logic and mathematics. The Lambda Calculus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
The bulk of the benefits were flowing to China, which became the low-cost producer for the developed world, and to consumers in advanced economies whose shops offered a cornucopia of cheaper goods.
2025 January 23, Ned Temko, “Is the West’s liberal template broken?”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| cornucopiæ | Number=Plur | archaic | lexicographic |
| cornucopias | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| cornucopiae | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
cornucopia machine · pornocopia · cornucopia sofa · cornucopiate · cornucopian
Hyponyms
Relateds
Synonyms
abundance · gold mine · wealth · treasure trove · plethora · horn of plenty · profusion · cornucopia · horn of Amalthea · choice
Translations (82)
pl róg obfitości (abundance or plentiful supply) · eo korno de abundeco (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · cmn 角形裝飾物 /角形装饰物 (hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things) · sl rog izobilja (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · el κέρας της Αμάλθειας (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · lt gausybės ragas (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · cy corn llawnder (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · nb overflødighetshorn (hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things) · cy corn digonedd (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · da overflod (abundance or plentiful supply) · ja 宝庫 (abundance or plentiful supply) · ko 코르누코피아 (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · ru рог изоби́лия (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · cmn 豐饒之角 /丰饶之角 (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · ms kornukopia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · tl kornukopya (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · uk ріг достатку (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · fi runsaudensarvi (hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things) · et küllusesarv (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · nn overflodshorn (hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things) · nb overflødighetshorn (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · tr cornucopia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · sh rog obilja (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · fr corne d'abondance (abundance or plentiful supply) · grc Ἀμαλθείας κέρας (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · id kornukopia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · bg рог на изоби́лието (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · nn overflodshorn (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · ka სიუხვის რქა (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · cmn 聚寶盆 /聚宝盆 (abundance or plentiful supply) · cs habaděj (abundance or plentiful supply) · gl cornucopia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · nn overflod (abundance or plentiful supply) · la cornūcōpia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · ga corn na flúirse (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · ar قرن الوفرة (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · it cornucopia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · eu ugaritasunaren adar (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · fr corne d'abondance (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · hu bőségszaru (hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things) · ro cornucopia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · es cornucopia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · pl róg Amaltei (abundance or plentiful supply) · cs přehršel (abundance or plentiful supply) · he קרן השפע (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · pl róg obfitości (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · cs přehršle (abundance or plentiful supply) · ru изоби́лие (abundance or plentiful supply) · th กรวยแห่งความอุดมสมบูรณ์ (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · hu bőség (abundance or plentiful supply) · my ပဒေသာပင် (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · sh kornukopija (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · cs spousta (abundance or plentiful supply) · fi runsaudensarvi (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · hy առատության եղջյուր (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · nl hoorn des overvloeds (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · fi runsaudensarvi (abundance or plentiful supply) · cs roh hojnosti (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · pl róg Amaltei (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · fa شاخ نعمت (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · es cuerno de la abundancia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · de Füllhorn (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · ja コルヌー・コピアイ (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · da overflødighedshorn (hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things) · ko 보고 (abundance or plentiful supply) · sv ymnighetshorn (hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things) · ca cornucòpia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · pt cornucópia (abundance or plentiful supply) · da overflødighedshorn (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · pl obfitość (abundance or plentiful supply) · hu bőségszaru (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · is nægtahorn (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · de Fülle (abundance or plentiful supply) · ca corn de l'abundància (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · cmn 寶庫 /宝库 (abundance or plentiful supply) · sv ymnighetshorn (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · kk молшылық мүйізі (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · be рог дастатку (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · pt cornucópia (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · lv pārpilnības rags (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · eo abundokorno (mythical horn endlessly overflowing with food and drink) · nb overflod (abundance or plentiful supply)