pony English · revision 39481

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1659, Scottish|origins=la pullus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈpəʊni/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈpoʊni/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It first appears in Scots, spelled [[sco|powny]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and is probably [[bor|frm|poulenet|t=little foal]],^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024)^(ODE 2010) a diminutive of [[m|fro|poulain|t=foal]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which comes from [[la-lat|pullāmen|t=young of an animal]] (or [[m|la-med|pullānus]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(ODE 2010) from [[m|la|pullus|t=young animal, foal]],^(Etymonline)^(Ayto 2005) a word related to English [[foal]].^(Ayto 2005)^(Barnhart 1988) 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;^(OED 2026) Weekley, for the same reasons, thought an old derivation from [[puny]] might be right.^(Weekley 1921) Johnson (1755) did not know its origin.^(Johnson 1755) The French word [[m|fr|poney]] (1752) was borrowed back from English.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A small horse: 1659, in a Scottish diary.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline gives the height as less than 13 hands.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Johnson (1755) defined it simply as a small horse,^(Johnson 1755) and the Scottish word was in general English use by the 18th century.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Ayto 2005) 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.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS) American students called a crib or literal translation a ''pony'' (1827), and ''to pony'' was to use one (1847).^(OED 2026)^(GDoS) 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 [[m|la|lēgem pōne]], the opening of a psalm sung on 25 March, a quarter day when debts fell due.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) In 20th-century slang ''pony'' was also a racehorse (1896, chiefly North American) and, as rhyming slang (''pony and trap''), rubbish (1931).^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1659 – ''powny'', a small horse, in Scots.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1708 – a small glass or measure of drink.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1797 – British slang, twenty-five pounds.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+ * 1819 – verb, to pay, usually with ''up''.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1827 – US slang, a crib used by students.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1847 – ''pony express''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1896 – a racehorse, in slang.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1952 – ''ponytail''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[horse]] of a small breed, usually not more than 14.2 hands high.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A small glass for [[liqueur]] or spirits, or the amount it holds.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (British slang) Twenty-five pounds sterling.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (US slang) A literal [[translation]] used by students, often illicitly; a [[crib]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (slang, chiefly North American) A racehorse, or in the plural, horse racing.^(OED 2026)

+ # Something small of its kind.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # (informal) To pay money, especially reluctantly, usually with ''up'': ''Members had to pony up another fifty dollars.''^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # (US slang) To prepare a lesson by using a crib.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ponytail]]

+ * [[Chincoteague pony]]

+ * [[cow pony]]

+ * [[dog and pony show]]

+ * [[one-trick pony]]

+ * [[polo pony]]

+ * [[Pony Express]]

+ * [[pony truss]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[foal]]

+ * [[pullet]]

+ * [[poultry]]

+ * [[puny]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}