he teaches boys the hornbook

  • 1Hornbook — Horn book , n. 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,… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Hornbook — A hornbook is a book that serves as primer for study. The hornbook originated in England in 1450 (Huey, Edmund Burke). The term has been applied to a few different study materials in different fields. In children s education, in the years before… …

    Wikipedia

  • 3hornbook — noun a) A single page containing the alphabet, covered with a sheet of transparent horn, formerly used for teaching children to read.<ref name= ADPM def >The [ …

    Wiktionary