cornucopia

cornucopia

Update: 2025-11-27
Share

Description




Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 27, 2025 is:




cornucopia • \kor-nuh-KOH-pee-uh\  • noun

A cornucopia, also known as a horn of plenty, is a curved, hollow goat’s horn or similarly shaped receptacle (such as a horn-shaped basket) that is overflowing, especially with fruit and vegetables. The image of a cornucopia is commonly used as decoration and as a symbol of abundance, but the word cornucopia is today more often encountered in its metaphorical use referring to an overflowing abundance, or to a seemingly inexhaustible amount of something.



// The zoo’s new aviary is a veritable cornucopia of color and sound, with scores of different bird species swooping and squawking through the canopy.



See the entry >





Examples:

“It was rather dark in there. ... However, the counters and their cornucopia of offerings were brightly lit. Want chocolate bars? Nasal sprays? Gummy bears? Bath bombs? Tinctures? Vapes? Mints? Jellies? Peanut butter cups? Lemonade? Fruit punch?” — Marla Jo Fisher, The Orange County (California) Register, 1 Sept. 2025





Did you know?

Cornucopia comes from the Late Latin phrase cornu copiae, which translates literally as “horn of plenty.” A traditional staple of feasts, the cornucopia is believed to represent the horn of a goat from Greek mythology. According to legend, it was from this horn, which could be filled with whatever the owner wished, that the god Zeus was fed as an infant by his nurse, the nymph Amalthaea. Later, the horn was filled with flowers and fruits, and given as a present to Zeus. The filled horn (or a receptacle resembling it) has long served as a traditional symbol in art and decoration to suggest a store of abundance. The word first appeared in English in the early 16th century; a century later, it developed the figurative sense of “an overflowing supply.”






Comments 
In Channel
cornucopia

cornucopia

2025-11-2702:48

unabashed

unabashed

2025-11-2602:21

perdition

perdition

2025-11-2502:26

amalgamate

amalgamate

2025-11-2402:23

desolate

desolate

2025-11-2302:21

metonymy

metonymy

2025-11-2202:47

bloviate

bloviate

2025-11-2102:16

gauche

gauche

2025-11-2002:35

serendipity

serendipity

2025-11-1902:15

eccentric

eccentric

2025-11-1802:11

crucible

crucible

2025-11-1703:02

writhe

writhe

2025-11-1602:44

radial

radial

2025-11-1502:30

heyday

heyday

2025-11-1402:08

peremptory

peremptory

2025-11-1302:49

abide

abide

2025-11-1202:17

doughty

doughty

2025-11-1102:15

temerity

temerity

2025-11-1002:19

improvident

improvident

2025-11-0902:54

bromide

bromide

2025-11-0802:10

loading
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

cornucopia

cornucopia

Merriam-Webster