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horse

(hôrs)

a. A large hoofed mammal (Equus caballus) having a short coat, a long mane, and a long tail, domesticated since ancient times and used for riding and for drawing or carrying loads.

b. An adult male horse; a stallion.

c. Any of various equine mammals, such as the wild Asian species Przewalski's horse or certain extinct forms related ancestrally to the modern horse.

2. A frame or device, usually with four legs, used for supporting or holding.

3. Sports A vaulting horse.

4. Slang Heroin.

5. often horses Horsepower: a muscle car with 400 horses under the hood.

6. Mounted soldiers; cavalry: a squadron of horse.

7. Geology

a. A block of rock interrupting a vein and containing no minerals.

b. A large block of displaced rock that is caught along a fault.

v. horsed, hors·ing, hors·es

v.tr.

1. To provide with a horse.

2. To haul or hoist energetically: "Things had changed little since the days of the pyramids, with building materials being horsed into place by muscle power" (Henry Allen).

v.intr.

To be in heat. Used of a mare.

adj.

1. Of or relating to a horse: a horse blanket.

2. Mounted on horses: horse guards.

3. Drawn or operated by a horse.

4. Larger or cruder than others in the same category: horse pills.

Phrasal Verb:

horse around Informal

To indulge in horseplay or frivolous activity: Stop horsing around and get to work.

Idioms:

a horse of another/a different color

Another matter entirely; something else.

beat/flog a dead horse

1. To continue to pursue a cause that has no hope of success.

2. To dwell tiresomely on a matter that has already been decided.

be/get on (one's) high horse

To be or become disdainful, superior, or conceited.

hold (one's) horses

To restrain oneself.

the horse's mouth

A source of information regarded as original or unimpeachable.

[Middle English, from Old English hors; akin to Old Norse hross, horse, and German Ross, steed.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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