Word a Day (4/30)

inkhorn \INK-horn\, adjective:
1. Affectedly or ostentatiously learned; pedantic.

noun:
1. A small bottle of horn or other material formerly used for holding ink.

Inkhorn derives from the name for the container formerly used (beginning in the 14th century) for holding ink, originally made from a real horn. Hence it came to refer to words that were being used by learned writers and scholars but which were unknown or rare in ordinary speech.

Good to know.