Acornia

[psychotick]

Hi,

Just a quick question. In my current WIP I have created a breed of horses called the acornia. The theory goes that there are unicorns in the world, they're randy buggers, and occasionally have their way with horses. The offspring is a half breed horse, unicorn. And one group have bred these half breeds into the acornia - unicorn magic beasts without a horn and horse features etc.

Anyway my worry is that acornia sounds too close to acorn. But the word fits well. After all a unicorn has one horn and an acornia has no horns.

Any thoughts?

 

[CupofJoe]

Yep; it sounds like "acorn" but I wouldn't sweat it. Almost any word that "sounds right" is probably going to have a phononym [or is that homonym] that others will find for themselves.
The only thing is that I still get the feeling that an acornia has a horn... uni-corn [one horn] vs a-corn-ia [a horn]. That's just my impression of the sense of the word.

 

[Ireth]

The only thing is that I still get the feeling that an acornia has a horn... uni-corn [one horn] vs a-corn-ia [a horn]. That's just my impression of the sense of the word.

I don't get that impression at all. The a- suffix meaning "without" makes me think of other words with the same: asexual, atheist, amnesia, etc. That said, at first glance the word did make me think of acorns, especially their cute little caps. XD

 

[MVV]

I think you could even make a good use for the similiarity between the two words. For example, the breeders or those who work in the stables could use the word 'acorn' as a slang term...

 

[buyjupiter]

Looking at the Greek root for both "rhinoceros" and "unicorn" leads to "keras" for horn. (The Latin being "cornu").

You might try Akeras or Akeros (rhinokeros in Greek) to see if that works better. It leaves the acorns out of it at least.

I hope that helps!

 

[Hainted]

And if one wanders out in front of a car on the highway you can call it "CREAMED ACORNIA".........I'll show myself out.

 

[Saigonnus]

For me, it sounds too much like "Acorna" a character by Anne McCaffrey in a series by the same name. She is part of a humanoid race with a horn; "rumored" to be the origins of the "Unicorn" legends on Earth, especially among the Chinese folklore.

 

[Ginger Bee]

For me, it sounds too much like "Acorna" a character by Anne McCaffrey in a series by the same name. She is part of a humanoid race with a horn; "rumored" to be the origins of the "Unicorn" legends on Earth, especially among the Chinese folklore.

Ditto, I thought this thread was going to be about that book.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Oh crud! I've even seen those books somewhere.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Penpilot]

For me, I did notice acorn right off the bat, but I'm the type of person to notice things like that. Depending on how free for all you want to be about spelling a simple change to Akornia would keep people like me from noticing.

 

[Ruby]

Hi Psychotick, I suppose you could have Acorn the Unicorn for your MC if not the whole tribe. Do you know why we say "a" and not "an" unicorn?

 

[Ireth]

Hi Psychotick, I suppose you could have Acorn the Unicorn for your MC if not the whole tribe. Do you know why we say "a" and not "an" unicorn?

Because "unicorn" is pronounced YOO-ni-corn, not OOH-ni-corn. It's the sneaky y sound that makes the u seem a bit like a consonant, so we use a rather than an before it.

 

[Ruby]

Because "unicorn" is pronounced YOO-ni-corn, not OOH-ni-corn. It's the sneaky y sound that makes the u seem a bit like a consonant, so we use a rather than an before it.

Thanks. That must be why we say "a university", "a universe", "a universal truth" etc. so a u can behave like a y.

 

[Ireth]

Thanks. That must be why we say "a university", "a universe", "a universal truth" etc. so a u can behave like a y.

Exactly that. ^^

 

[Zero Angel]

Acornia sounds cool, and no worries about it sounding like Acorna since that's a similar root. I originally thought it was going to be a country or world instead of a species.

I'm not entirely clear on what they are though? A unicorn without a horn is a horse, yes? Or is it the fact that they're magical that it matters they come from unicorn stock? If that's the case, I'd be sure to describe them as a magic horse with unicorn ancestors as opposed to a unicorn descendent without a horn...