Unicorn
The unicorn was a medieval symbol that still enjoys great popularity. But as with all other legendary animals, it’s very doubtful that the elites ever believed in it. In Hebrew, the unicorn is called חד קרן ḥd-qrn chad-qeren. But if you change the Ḥet to He, then that word becomes הדקרן h-dqr-n ha-deqer-en for “piercing” & “stabbing”, or even more bluntly: הדכרן h-dkr-n ha-deker-en for “penis”.
This explains the strange tales claiming that a unicorn is strong & fierce, but becomes soft & tame in a virgin’s lap, and has to be fenced in. Those smutty spooks!
It’s uncertain what language the unicorn was invented in. Since the specific horned-horse unicorns are medieval symbols, I’d suggest it’s some European language. Mythical creatures with horns are plenty though, so there may well be unrelated earlier puns in different languages. The Bible also mentions a critter called ראם rˀm, translated as “aurochs” / “rhinoceros” / “unicorn”. But that word has nothing to do wth uni or horn, so it seems the unicorn translation was slapped on later.
As for the puns:
- The unicorn is called חד קרן ḥd-qrn in Hebrew & Aramaic. The pun shifts the D onto the 2nd word, and treats H & N as prefix & suffix.
- The unicorn has a very pointy horn, because Hebrew הדקרן h-dqr-n means “piercing” & “stabbing”.
- The unicorn is brave & fierce, because Aramaic הדכרן h-dkr-n means “manly” (Aramaic dkr is Hebrew zkr).
- The unicorn becomes soft & tame in a virgin’s lap and needs to be fenced in, because Aramaic הדכרן h-dkr-n also means “penis”!
- The unicorn may be a symbol for spookery, because Greek ιππο κερατος hippo keratos for “horned horse” puns with υποκριτης hypo-krites for “stage actor” & “pretender” (see horn). Enacting & pretending to be someone else is what spookery is all about! (The mono horn could pun with μυνη mune for “pretense”.)
- The unicorn is associated with believing in fairy tales, because υποκρινομαι hypokrinomai is a general word for theatrical acting, i.e. generally things that are not real.
The number 1 also puns with “Jew” & “leader”. In Hebrew, the horn also puns with “finance” & “power”, and with “like someone else”. It’s thus possible that the unicorn is also a Semitic “hidden ruler” pun at the same time.
Hebrew, Aramaic ḥd = one; qrn = horn; ḥd-qrn = unicorn;
חד ḥd : one — Aramaic (CAL)
אחד ˀḥd : one; singular, unique; closed up, mysterious — Hebrew (Jastrow)
קרן qrn : horn; strength; beam, ray — Hebrew (Jastrow)
חד קרן ḥd qrn : a legendary creature, from the mythology of ancient medieval Europe, with hooves and a single horn on its forehead — Hebrew (Wikt)
יחידאי קרן yḥydˀy qrn : unicorn — Aramaic (CAL)
דחדה קרן dḥdh qrn : one horned animal — Aramaic (CAL)