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horse

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: HORSE, Horse, H.O.R.S.E., and H-O-R-S-E

English

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A common horse
Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii)

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱers-
Proto-Indo-European *-ós
Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁wers-
Proto-Indo-European *-ḗn
?
Proto-Indo-European *wers-
Proto-Indo-European *-ḗn
?
Proto-Indo-European *wérsēn
Proto-Indo-Iranian *(w)ŕ̥šā
Proto-Iranian *(w)ŕ̥šāder.?
Proto-Germanic *hrussą
Proto-West Germanic *hross
Old English hors
Middle English hors
English horse

    From Middle English hors, horse, ors, from Old English hors (“horse”), from Proto-West Germanic *hors, *hross, from Proto-Germanic *hrussą (“horse”), most likely from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós (“vehicle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of car and carrus.

    Cognates

    Cognate with Scots horse (“horse”), West Frisian hoars (“horse”), Cimbrian ross (“horse”), Dutch hors, ros (“horse”), German Ross, Roß (“horse”), Danish and Norwegian Nynorsk hors (“horse, mare”), Faroese hors, ross (“horse”), Icelandic hross (“horse”), Swedish russ (“horse”); also Cornish karr (“car”), Welsh car (“car; cart, wagon”), Latin currus (“car, chariot; wagon, wain”), Ancient Greek ἐπίκουρος (epíkouros, “aiding, assisting; defending; ally, helper; hireling”), Tocharian A kursär (“vehicle; mile”), Tocharian B kwarsär (“course; path”).

    Alternative forms

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    Noun

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    horse (countable and uncountable, plural horses)

    2. A hoofed mammal, Equus ferus caballus, often used throughout history for riding and draft work.
      A cowboy's greatest friend is his horse.
      She loved taming horses on Saturday.
      • 1755 April 15, Samuel Johnson, “Oats”, in A Dictionary of the English Language: […], volume II (L–Z), London: […] W[illiam] Strahan, for J[ohn] and P[aul] Knapton;  […], →OCLC, column 1:
        A grain, which in England is generally given to horſes, but which in Scotland ſupports the people.
      • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 16:
        Athelstan Arundel walked home […] , foaming and raging. […] He walked the whole way, walking through crowds, and under the noses of dray-horses, carriage-horses, and cart-horses, without taking the least notice of them.
      • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
        The departure was not unduly prolonged. […] Within the door Mrs. Spoker hastily imparted to Mrs. Love a few final sentiments on the subject of Divine Intention in the disposition of buckets; farewells and last commiserations; a deep, guttural instigation to the horse; and the wheels of the waggonette crunched heavily away into obscurity.
      1. Any member of the species Equus ferus, including the Przewalski's horse and the extinct Equus ferus ferus.
      2. (zoology) Any current or extinct animal of the family Equidae, including zebras and asses.
        These bone features, distinctive in the zebra, are actually present in all horses.
      3. A male horse, as opposed to a mare.
      4. (military, sometimes uncountable) Cavalry soldiers (sometimes capitalized when referring to an official category).
        We should place two units of horse and one of foot on this side of the field.
      5. A component of certain games.
        1. (chess, informal) The chess piece representing a knight, depicted as a horse.
          Now just remind me how the horse moves again?
        2. (xiangqi) A xiangqi piece that moves and captures one point orthogonally and then one point diagonally.
      6. (slang) A large and sturdy person.
        Every linebacker they have is a real horse.
      7. (historical) A timber frame shaped like a horse, which soldiers were made to ride for punishment.
        Synonyms: Morgan's mule, Spanish donkey
    3. Equipment with legs.
      1. In gymnastics, a piece of equipment with a body on two or four legs, approximately four feet high, sometimes (pommel horse) with two handles on top.
        She's scored very highly with the parallel bars; let's see how she does with the horse.
      2. A frame with legs, used to support something.
        a clothes horse; a sawhorse
    4. (nautical) A type of equipment.
      1. A rope stretching along a yard, upon which men stand when reefing or furling the sails; footrope.
        • 1887, William Clark Russell, A Book for the Hammock:
          The old “horse” has made way for the “foot-rope", though we still retain the term “Flemish horse" for the short foot-rope at the top-sail yard-arms
      2. A breastband for a leadsman.
      3. An iron bar for a sheet traveller to slide upon.
      4. A jackstay.
        • 1897, Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous:
          But in all the wild tumult he noticed, and never forgot, the wicked, set little eye—something like a circus elephant's eye—of a whale that drove along almost level with the water, and, so he said, winked at him. Three boats found their rodings fouled by these reckless mid-sea hunters, and were towed half a mile ere their horses shook the line free.
    5. (mining) A mass of earthy matter, or rock of the same character as the wall rock, occurring in the course of a vein, as of coal or ore; hence, to take horse (said of a vein) is to divide into branches for a distance.
    6. (US) An informal variant of basketball in which players match shots made by their opponent(s), each miss adding a letter to the word "horse", with 5 misses spelling the whole word and eliminating a player, until only the winner is left. Also HORSE, H-O-R-S-E or H.O.R.S.E. (see H-O-R-S-E on WikipediaWikipedia ).
    7. (uncountable) The flesh of a horse as an item of cuisine.
      • 1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 46:
        She said: "I'm starved. I could eat a horse." I told her she was lying, because I had once eaten horse.
    8. (prison slang) A prison guard who smuggles contraband in or out for prisoners.
      • 1980, Lee Harrington Bowker, Prison Victimization, page 117:
        This "horse" (a slang term for prison officers who smuggle contraband into the institution) was probably able "to stay in business" for such a long time because he only "packed" for powerful, trustworthy prisoners […]
    9. (dated, slang, among students) A translation or other illegitimate aid in study or examination.
    10. (dated, slang, among students) Horseplay; tomfoolery. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
    11. (poker slang) A player who has been staked, i.e. another player has paid for their buy-in and claims a percentage of any winnings.
    Usage notes
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    Synonyms
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    Hyponyms
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    kinds of horse by physical attributes
    kinds of horse by employment
    Derived terms
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    Terms derived from horse (noun)
    Descendants
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    • → Ahtna: xoos
    • Krio: ɔs
    • Maroon Spirit Language: as, has
    • Sranan Tongo: asi
    • Tok Pisin: hos
    • → Māori: hōiho
    • → Quiripi: hosses (from the plural horses)
    Translations
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