The Etymology of Cornea
Cornea is, etymologically, horn.โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ Medieval Latin 'cornea (tela)' meant 'horny tissue,' from Latin 'cornu' (horn) and the Proto-Indo-European root '*ker-' that gives Greek 'keras,' English 'horn,' and Latin 'cornucopia.' Galen and later medieval anatomists named the front of the eye for its tough, fibrous consistency โ the cornea is hard for the same reason hooves and horns are hard, both built from related forms of keratin protein. That texture, not its transparency, gave the structure its name. English borrowed the term in the 14th century through Latin medical writing, and like many Latin anatomical loans it has stayed exactly the same. The cornea's relatives in English are remarkably visible: unicorn (one-horn), cornucopia (horn of plenty), cornet (small horn), and the musical instrument the corno.