If you were to apply your vestigial mental faculties to the problem, “Ben,” it would probably occur to you that “horny” is vaguely related to “horn,” the phallic possibilities of which are self-evident. The term dates from the 15th century. The horn/phallus link is also the reason some Eastern cultures prize the powdered horn of certain animals, notably the rhinoceros, as an aphrodisiac. Horns have also traditionally been associated with cuckoldry. I’m told that in many European languages, being horny means you’ve been betrayed by your spouse. For instance, the Byzantine Greek word for cuckold, kerasthoros, means “horn bearer.” It’s claimed this usage derives from the practice of grafting the spurs of a capon (a castrated rooster) onto his comb, thereby creating horns. Sound bizarre to me, but it makes a good yarn.*
However, I was reading Dan Brown’s book “The Da Vinci Code”, and in Chapter 26, Brown writes this:
"Amon [the Egyption god of fertility] is indeed represented as a man with a ram’s head, and his promiscuity and curved horns are related to our modern sexual slang ‘horny.’ "
Here’s a link to the column to which you were referring in your post: “What’s the origin of “horny”?” (It helps the rest of us out if you have a link in your initial post. But no foul. :))
As to your question: I don’t know the answer, but it does seem that Dan Brown is a writer in the footsteps of John Grisham and Dean Koontz: satisfying when you don’t want to think too hard–plus they manage to spell most of the words correctly.
I’d go with Cecil on this one. (But watch someone with actual, you know, facts come in here and prove my faith wrong. ;))
Given the enormous number of factual and historic errors in The Da Vinci Code, and given the clear statement that it is a work of fiction, one has no reason to believe anything in that book. Well, OK, I mean I believe there really is an island called Malta, and that there was a real DaVinci who painted, but that’s pretty much about where credibility ends.
However, in this instance, the two comments are not necessarily inconsistent. The etymology of the word “horny” is covered by Cecil, but Cecil does imply that the connection of a horn with a phallus is ancient, common in many cultures, and pre-dates the English word.
I am disturbed by one point in Cecil’s column, however.
“Many European languages,” forsooth? Indeed, it is quite true, but one of those “Many European languages” is English. Is Cecil unfamiliar with the obscure English writers who make use of this idiom, such as Aphra Behn – and William Shakespeare?
Yes, but in those languages the word is used to mean primarily either an adulterer(ess) or (as in Spanish “cornudo”) a cuckold; as opposed to Modern English where its usual and customary usage is to mean the person’s feeling randy.