Getting Horny

Horny.

What a silly word to use when you’re talking about sexual arousal. Go ahead: toss the word around in your mind for a moment.

Does it incite feelings of romance? Does the very poetry of the word make you weak in the knees?

I’m guessing your answer is no. Of course, there’s another meaning for the word that goes back much further—all the way back to the 10th century in England, where the word meant simply something that resembles a horn.

You might be referring to a frog that looks like it has horns growing out of its head, or you might describe a physical feature like calloused skin or fingernails, something with the same traits as a horn.

If you owned something made of a horn, like one of those super-cool drinking vessels so-called barbarian types used, you might have said you had a horny cup:

You might even use it to describe something with actual horns: there goes a horny deer!

(Editor’s note: make sure you have the right audience, and not to slide inadvertently into Poe’s Law here.)

Over time, horny came to be used commonly for all of these sorts of things, including things that were shaped like horns.

Including things from human anatomy that are shaped like horns.

Naturally, horny eventually became a euphemism for male arousal, and by the late 18th century, “having the horn” was in fairly common usage in England. By the 19th century, our modern version of "horny” had made its way to print.

Middle school classrooms, television, radio, and the internet have continued to immortalize this meaning of the word.

Over time, horny has come to mean all types of arousal, not just male. Meanings morph and words evolve over time, and this word is no exception.

I can’t remember the first time I heard the word horny, but I’m sure it was during either middle or elementary school, and I’m also sure the word quickly stuck in my mind. It was just too weird not to be memorable, and more importantly, sexually charged words were also utterly fascinating to us kids, representing the mysterious and far-off world of adults.

What about you—can you remember when you first heard the word horny? Had you heard much of this etymology before?