Etymologically
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pony

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈpəʊni/[1]
  • US: /ˈpoʊni/[1]

Etymology

It first appears in Scots, spelled Scots powny,[2][3][4] and is probably borrowed from Middle French poulenet (“little foal”),[5][6][7] a diminutive of poulain (“foal”),[3][2] which comes from Late Latin pullāmen (“young of an animal”) (or pullānus),[2][8][7] from pullus (“young animal, foal”),[3][9] a word related to English foal.[9][2] The OED notes that the French word is recorded only once, in 1444, and that the gap in time and the lack of early English spellings close to the French make the derivation problematic;[5] Weekley, for the same reasons, thought an old derivation from puny might be right.[10] Johnson (1755) did not know its origin.[11] The French word poney (1752) was borrowed back from English.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small horse: 1659, in a Scottish diary.[5][2] Etymonline gives the height as less than 13 hands.[3]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it simply as a small horse,[11] and the Scottish word was in general English use by the 18th century.[12][9] From the idea of something small came a small glass or measure of drink (1708) and, in British betting slang, the sum of twenty-five pounds (1797), perhaps as a relatively small sum, as the pony is a small horse.[5][13] American students called a crib or literal translation a pony (1827), and to pony was to use one (1847).[5][13] The verb pony up, to pay (1819 in the OED, 1824 in Etymonline), is of uncertain origin: the OED derives it from the noun, while the AHD and Etymonline mention the phrase lēgem pōne, the opening of a psalm sung on 25 March, a quarter day when debts fell due.[5][3][6] In 20th-century slang pony was also a racehorse (1896, chiefly North American) and, as rhyming slang (pony and trap), rubbish (1931).[5]

Timeline

  • 1659 – powny, a small horse, in Scots.[5][2][3]
  • 1708 – a small glass or measure of drink.[5]
  • 1797 – British slang, twenty-five pounds.[5][13]
  • 1819 – verb, to pay, usually with up.[5]
  • 1827 – US slang, a crib used by students.[5]
  • 1847 – pony express.[2]
  • 1896 – a racehorse, in slang.[5]
  • 1952 – ponytail.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A horse of a small breed, usually not more than 14.2 hands high.
  2. A small glass for liqueur or spirits, or the amount it holds.
  3. (British slang) Twenty-five pounds sterling.
  4. (US slang) A literal translation used by students, often illicitly; a crib.
  5. (slang, chiefly North American) A racehorse, or in the plural, horse racing.
  6. Something small of its kind.

Verb

  1. (informal) To pay money, especially reluctantly, usually with up: Members had to pony up another fifty dollars.
  2. (US slang) To prepare a lesson by using a crib.

Word family

  • ponytail
  • Chincoteague pony
  • cow pony
  • dog and pony show
  • one-trick pony
  • polo pony
  • Pony Express
  • pony truss
  • foal
  • pullet
  • poultry
  • puny

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  11. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com