What Is a Unicorn?

What is a unicorn? Well, it’s a magical creature with a single horn on its forehead, right? It’s not quite that simple, though. There is more than one way to define a unicorn.

Let’s start with the magical creature called a unicorn. Next, we’re going to talk about whether a single horn makes any animal a unicorn.

We will also have a look at the term ´unicorn´ in the human world. Can humans be unicorns too? And what on Earth are the troublesome unicorn hunters?

Today’s post will answer all aspects of the question “What is a unicorn?”.

What Is a Unicorn? – A Magical Creature with a Single Horn

Unicorns are known for having a single horn on the forehead. Unicorns are also magical creatures.

The history of the unicorn myth in Europe began in the 5th century BCE when Ctesias wrote his natural history book Indica. In this book, Ctesias introduced a “one-horned wild ass”. This is where the modern unicorn myth evolved from.

The modern European unicorn is known as a horse-like magical creature with a single horn. However, the unicorn hasn’t always been like a horse. The medieval unicorn often resembled a goat.

In many cultures, the unicorn still looks different from a one-horned horse. The Chinese unicorn, qilin, resembles a dragon, while the Japanese unicorn, kirin, is often depicted as a deer-like one-horned animal.

What is common to all the different unicorn myths around the World, then? No matter if a unicorn resembles a horse, a deer, or a dragon, the unicorn is known as a magical creature with a single horn.

Unicorns usually have some healing magical powers. They can heal sickness and purify water with their horn.

But is this the only definition of a unicorn? Can only magical creatures be unicorns? To decide that, we need to have a look at the actual meaning of the word ‘unicorn’.

Unicorn Means “One-Horned” – Are All One-Horned Animals Unicorns?

The word ‘unicorn’ comes from the Latin word ‘unicornis’, which means “one-horned”. So, literally, a unicorn is a one-horned animal.

Wait, does that mean a unicorn doesn’t have to be magical? Well, if we want to broaden the definition of a unicorn to all one-horned animals, it does.

Animals like goats and deer with just one horn have been born. Some animal breeders even manipulate cows’ or goats’ horns, so that they grow into one horn instead of two. Technically, these animals are unicorns, because they have one horn.

Does It Even Have to Be a Horn? – How About a Horn-Like Extension?

Of course, we can even argue about what is a unicorn horn.

A horn is not the same thing as an antler, for example. An antler, unlike a horn, is an extension of an animal’s skull. A horn is permanently attached to an animal’s head, but antlers can be shed and re-grown. However, the Japanese unicorn kirin sometimes has an antler, and it’s still called a unicorn.

Narwhals are often called “unicorns of the sea”, because they have a single “horn”. In reality, narwhals have a tusk, not a horn.

Even dogs and rabbits have been called “unicorns”. Narwhal “the unicorn puppy” got his nickname for an extra tail growing on his forehead. One of Wonky the unicorn rabbit‘s ears sometimes points upwards like a unicorn horn, so he’s known as a “unicorn rabbit”.

So, it seems you don’t necessarily need a horn to be a unicorn. As long as you have a horn-like extension on your head; an antler, a tusk, an extra tail, or a lopsided ear, you’re a unicorn.

Can Humans Be Unicorns?

I think now we know what a unicorn in the animal world is. Traditionally, a unicorn is a mythical, magical creature with a single horn. However, a unicorn can mean any animal, even a non-magical one, with a single horn or horn-like extension on its head.

How about humans? Can humans be unicorns?

If being a unicorn means you must have a horn-like extension on your head, there are even some humans who can be called unicorns. Some people have keratinous skin tumors called cutaneous horns. These tumors can appear on the head.

So, it is physically possible, although unusual, for a human to be a unicorn. But in the human world, the term “unicorn” has other meanings as well.

What Is a Unicorn Company?

In the venture capital industry, the word unicorn means a private startup company with a value of over $1 billion.

Most unicorn companies are born in the 2000s, and they include Airbnb, SpaceX, and Über.

The reason why these businesses are called unicorns is the fact that they are extremely rare; just like the magical creature called a unicorn.

So, does a unicorn also mean something that is extremely rare?

That’s how the term is often used. Therefore, any rare or special human could call themselves a unicorn. You can be a “unicorn mom”, “unicorn baby”, “crafty unicorn”, whatever you want to be.

Then, there is the “bisexual unicorn”.

What Is a Bisexual Unicorn? – And the Troublesome Unicorn Hunters?

A bisexual unicorn is a single bisexual girl or woman who has casual sex with heterosexual couples.

The bisexual unicorn has also gained her nickname because of her rarity. Not so many women seek couples in their dating ads.

Unicorn hunters, on the other hand, are very visible in the online dating world. They are heterosexual couples looking for a bisexual woman to spice up their sex life with a threesome. Usually, they have very specific qualifications for the unicorn they are looking for, especially when it comes to appearance.

Unicorn hunters can be very exhausting to deal with. For unicorn hunters, any bisexual woman is a potential unicorn, even if the woman is not interested in a threesome at all.

What Is a Unicorn? – The All-Inclusive Definition

Traditionally, the unicorn is a magical creature with a single horn on its forehead. The modern European unicorn is a horse-like, usually white animal with a horn on its forehead.

In other cultures, unicorns can look like a dragon or deer. However, magical powers and a single horn on the forehead are common traits to all unicorns.

The literal meaning of the word ‘unicorn’ is “one-horned”, and it comes from the Latin word ´unicornis´. If we take the word ´unicorn´ literally, a unicorn can be any animal with a single horn.

Maybe it doesn’t even need to be a horn. Any horn-like extension, such as an antler or a tusk, on the animal’s head, will do. So, a narwhal can be a unicorn too. Sometimes, although rarely, even humans can have a horn; a keratinous skin tumor called a cutaneous horn.

In the human world, the word ‘unicorn’ has other meanings as well. A unicorn company is a private startup company with a value of over $1 billion.

Sometimes, any rare or special people like to call themselves unicorns.

A bisexual unicorn is a single bisexual girl or woman who has casual sex with heterosexual couples.

Unicorn hunters are heterosexual couples looking for such a unicorn woman for casual sex. They often have very specific qualifications for the unicorn they wish to find.

In conclusion, the word ‘unicorn’ has many definitions. It can mean a magical creature, a non-magical animal, a human, or even a company.

Is there anything in common with all these different definitions? There certainly is; a rarity. So, the broadest definition for ‘unicorn’ is something extremely rare and hard to find.

What is a unicorn in your opinion? Does it only mean the magical creature to you? Do you think it’s any one-horned animal? Or do you think all the different definitions of ‘unicorn’ are valid? Please let me know what you think in the comment section below.