D defs.my
Entry 2 senses Webster, 1913

Hornbook

/hôr'-nbo͝okˌ/ · Horn·book · IPA /hˈɔrnbˌʊk/
01 n. The first book for children, or that from which in former times they learned their letters and rudiments; -- so called because a sheet of h…
  1. 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. 2.
    A book containing the rudiments of any science or branch of knowledge; a manual; a handbook.