cornucopia

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noun cor·nu·co·pia \ ˌkȯr-nə-ˈkō-pē-ə , -nyə-ˈkō- \

Definition of cornucopia

1 :a curved, hollow goat's horn or similarly shaped receptacle (such as a horn-shaped basket) that is overflowing especially with fruit and vegetables (such as gourds, ears of corn, apples, and grapes) and that is used as a decorative motif emblematic of abundance — called also horn of plenty

2 :an inexhaustible store :abundance

We marveled at the cornucopia of fruits, meats, toys, fresh fish, baskets, utensils and leather goods for sale in stalls that lined the streets for as far as we could see.
—Guy Garcia

For contemporary performers, soul represents a cornucopia of musical ideas.
—Jon Pareles

3 :a receptacle shaped like a horn or cone

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cornucopian

play \ˌkȯr-nə-ˈkō-pē-ən, -nyə-ˈkō-\ adjective

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Examples of cornucopia in a Sentence

The market is a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables.
The book includes a cornucopia of wonderful stories.

Recent Examples of cornucopia from the Web

Thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and low-cost $10 VR headsets, a cornucopia of exciting digital reality experiences are coming to the classroom.

— jay samit, Fortune, "These Virtual Field Trips Allow Students to Travel Across Time and Space," 29 Aug. 2017
So this fall arts preview spills out the sort of cornucopia of talent and virtuosity that spoils us all over again about this time every year.

— punch shaw, star-telegram, "Grab a pen. This fall arts calendar is jam-packed, from ‘La La’ to Ella, ‘Rent’ to Ravel," 22 Aug. 2017
Here, sample the cornucopia of garden-fresh vegetables, cured local meats, morning-baked bread and Styria’s famous green-gold pumpkin seed oil.

— Smithsonian, "10 Unexpectedly Scenic Places in Austria," 14 Aug. 2017
Yakima County, Washington’s cornucopia of produce, would likely see between 47 and 80 extremely hot days during that period.

— evan bush, The Seattle Times, "Think it’s hot now? Here’s what climate models say about the future of the Pacific Northwest," 7 Aug. 2017
The packet contains a cornucopia of cosmetics, candies, and trinkets, along with a personal note.

— christopher johnston, The Christian Science Monitor, "How Cleveland has become a leader in trying to eradicate human trafficking," 9 July 2017
Resident Linda Laurendeau spoke up for the city’s existing logo, which also features a cornucopia of the fruits and vegetables once grown in the city.

— stephen hudak, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Apopka's new 'Welcome' sign not welcome," 7 July 2017
The district’s new food truck transports a cornucopia of meal options to four of those sites.

— lily oppenheimer, kansascity.com, "KCK Public Schools pilots new food truck to drive away children’s summer hunger," 20 June 2017
Salvatore Bacoalon and Suzanne Sten, Metropolitan opera stars, are shown making a recording in an antique cornucopia horn into which the great Caruso actually recorded.

— glen barber, The Denver Post, "PHOTOS: Today in history – June 17," 17 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cornucopia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

cornucopia Has Latin Origins and Greek History

Cornucopia comes from the Latin cornu copiae, which translates literally as "horn of plenty." A traditional staple of feasts, the cornucopia is believed to represent the horn of a goat from Greek mythology. According to legend, it was from this horn that the god Zeus was fed as an infant. Later, the horn was filled with flowers and fruits, and given as a present to Zeus. The filled horn (or a receptacle resembling it) has long served as a traditional symbol in art and decoration to suggest a store of abundance. The word first appeared in English in the early 16th century; a century later, it developed the figurative sense of an overflowing supply.