cornes

Cornes is the plural form of corne in French, meaning horn. In biology and everyday language, the word refers to the hard, pointed projections on the heads of many animals. The term is used mainly for the horns of bovids (such as cattle, goats, and sheep) and to describe horn-like structures in other species.

In zoological terms, horns and antlers are distinct. Horns are usually permanent, growing from the skull with a bony core surrounded by a keratin sheath. They can be straight or curved and may be unbranched or branched, depending on the species. Antlers, by contrast, are made primarily of bone, are shed and regrown annually, and are typically branched; they occur on deer and their relatives. Some creatures possess horn-like structures that do not fit the classic horn-antler dichotomy, such as rhinoceros horns, which are composed of keratin and lack a bony core.

Etymology traces the word corne to Latin cornu, through Old French corne, retaining the plural form corn es in modern French. The plural corn es is used when discussing multiple horns or horn-bearing animals, as well as in metaphorical or extended senses describing horn-shaped objects or features.

Culturally, cornes appear in contexts such as hunting trophies, ceremonial regalia, and decorative items (for example, drinking horns). They also occur in scientific and common references to animal anatomy and to structural adaptations related to defense, display, or territorial behavior.