SG Heritage Dictionary

Hornbook [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. The first book of children, or that in which they learn their letters and rudiments; so called from its cover of horn. [Now little used.]

2. A disease of cattle, affecting the internal substance of the horn.

Hornbook [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. The first book for children, or that from which in former times they learned their letters and rudiments; -- so called because a sheet of horn covered the small, thin board of oak, or the slip of paper, on which the alphabet, digits, and often the Lord's Prayer, were written or printed; a primer.

2. A book containing the rudiments of any science or branch of knowledge; a manual; a handbook.