cornucopia
nounUK /ˌkɔː.njəˈkəʊ.pi.ə/ · US /ˌkɔɹ.nəˈkoʊ.pi.ə/
Etymology Borrowed from Latin cornūcōpia.
1
Human sciences, Mysticism, Mythology, Philosophy, Sciences Greek 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.
- 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:
- 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:
4 more examples
- 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:
- 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:
- 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:
- 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:
2
A hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things.
3
An abundance or plentiful supply.
- The store provided a veritable cornucopia of modern gadgets.
- 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:
2 more examples
- 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:
- 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)
- Synonyms
- horn of plenty, abundance, choice, cornucopia, gold mine, horn of Amalthea, plethora, profusion, treasure trove, wealth
- Derived terms
- cornucopia machine, cornucopian, cornucopia sofa, cornucopiate, pornocopia
- Hyponyms
- bevy