horse English · revision 3328

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *hursą}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /hɔːs/, US /hɔːrs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|hors]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|hors]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*hursą]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Some connect it with [[ine-pro|*kers-|t=to run]], the source of [[la|currere|t=to run]];^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) Boutkan, quoted by Etymonline, prefers a loan from an Iranian (Sarmatian) language that was also borrowed into Uralic.^(Etymonline) It is cognate with Old Frisian hors, Old Saxon hros, Dutch ros and German Ross “steed”, and Old Norse hross.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The verb is from late Old English horsian.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The animal: about 725, in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988) and about 825 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The compound horsthegn “groom” is from about 700.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The usual Indo-European word for the horse, seen in Latin equus and Old English eoh, was lost in English, probably through a taboo on naming an animal so important in religion.^(Etymonline) Old English used ''horse'' as a collective plural, and ''horses'' has been the usual plural since the 17th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Since the late 14th century the word has named devices on which something is mounted, as in [[sawhorse]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Collectively, ''horse'' can mean cavalry, as in ''a regiment of horse''.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD) In compounds it often means “coarse, large”, as in ''horse chestnut'' (16th century) and ''horse laugh'' (18th century).^(Hoad 1986) The verb, “to provide with a horse”, is from 1013 in Old English;^(Barnhart 1988) “to play jokes on” is by 1893, and ''horse around'' from 1928.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) ''Horses for courses'' is first recorded in 1891, as a familiar racing phrase,^(Cresswell 2021) and ''straight from the horse's mouth'' from about 1913.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 700 – horsthegn, a groom.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 725 – the animal.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1013 – Old English verb horsian.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – a frame or support.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1891 – ''horses for courses''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1893 – to tease, play jokes on.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1928 – ''horse around''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A large hoofed [[mammal]] with a long mane and tail, domesticated for riding and pulling loads.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An adult male horse; a [[stallion]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # [[cavalry|alt=Cavalry]]; mounted soldiers.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A frame or support, as a [[sawhorse]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A padded apparatus for [[gymnastics]]; a vaulting horse.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(slang)'' [[heroin|alt=Heroin]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To provide with a horse.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''horse around'': to play roughly or foolishly.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[horseless]]

+ * [[horselike]]

+ * [[unhorse]]

+ * [[horse around]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[horseback]]

+ * [[horsepower]]

+ * [[courier]]

+ * [[current]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}