mustang

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈmʌˌsteɪ̯ŋ/, /ˈmʌˌstɛ̃ŋ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish mestengo (“animal that strays”), a Mexican Spanish word,^[2][3][4][5] from older Spanish mesteño (“wild, stray, ownerless”),^[3][4][6] literally “belonging to the mesta”,^[3][4] from mesta (“association of graziers; annual roundup of cattle”),^[2][3][4][5] from Medieval Latin mixta (“mixed (animals)”), from Latin miscēre (“to mix”) (see mix).^[2][3][4][5] The form may have been influenced by Spanish mostrenco (“straying, ownerless”).^[4][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The wild or half-wild horse of the American plains, descended from horses brought by the Spaniards (1808 in the OED, Barnhart, Etymonline and Merriam-Webster).^[9][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The mesta was an association of Spanish cattle ranchers that divided among its members stray or unclaimed animals that had got “mixed” with the herds.^[3][4] Bartlett (1848) describes the mustang as the hardy wild horse of the prairies, content with little and able to do great labour.^[10] The name was extended to wild horses in Australia (1890)^[9] and to a small red grape of Texas (1846).^[9] In American military slang a mustang is an officer who has risen from the ranks (1847).^[9][5][11]

Timeline

• 1808 – the wild horse.^[9][3][5]
• 1846 – the mustang grape.^[9]
• 1847 – an officer promoted from the ranks (slang).^[9]
• 1890 – an Australian wild horse.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small, hardy, wild or half-wild horse of the western plains of North America, descended from Spanish horses; a bronco.
2. (US military slang) A commissioned officer who has risen from the ranks.

Verb

1. To hunt or round up wild horses.

Word family

• mustanger

Related words

• mix
• mixture
• bronco
• pinto
• cayuse

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Bartlett, John Russell (1848), Dictionary of Americanisms, New York: Bartlett and Welford
11. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House