That was a thoughtful answser cecil. I did not know that the word horny went that far back in english tho. the UK variant is “randy” and i know that goes back at least as far as the 18th century. i believe “horny” may be some original american slang english, i believe it goes back as far as the victorian 19th century, and i believe it was originally as a reference to the horns of a satyr. satyr’s were of course, always “horny” both literally and otherwise. a common 18th century english phrase to desribe a state of (male) arousal was , “riotous as a satyr”. i believe “horny” was an abbreviated form of this usage.
Column in question?
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/248/whats-the-origin-of-horny
I can’t find that phrase in any book using Google Book Search. If it was a common usage, or even a one-off, it doesn’t show up. Upon what are you basing your claim?