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ossicone (AWS-i-kohn) - n., the horn-like protuberances on the heads of giraffes and male okapis.
They are not horns or antlers, in that they are not made of bone or horn but rather ossified cartilage and remain covered in skin and fur. I'm not finding an etymology because this appears in remarkably few dictionaries (it is real, in the sense of being used in the wild in scientific papers), but I presume "ossified" and their vaguely conical/cylindrical shape has something to do with it. Also, though I'm sure you don't need me to point this out, it's a lovely word to say. Ossicones!
---L.
They are not horns or antlers, in that they are not made of bone or horn but rather ossified cartilage and remain covered in skin and fur. I'm not finding an etymology because this appears in remarkably few dictionaries (it is real, in the sense of being used in the wild in scientific papers), but I presume "ossified" and their vaguely conical/cylindrical shape has something to do with it. Also, though I'm sure you don't need me to point this out, it's a lovely word to say. Ossicones!
---L.
