horse

== English == === Pronunciation === (horse–hoarse merger) (Received Pronunciation) enPR: hô(r)s, IPA(key): /hɔːs/ (General American) IPA(key): /hoɹs/, [ho̞ɹs] (General Australian) enPR: hô(r)s, IPA(key): /hoːs/, [ho̝ːs] Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)s Homophone: hoarse (without the horse–hoarse merger) (rhotic) IPA(key): /hɔːɹs/ (non-rhotic) IPA(key): /hɔːs/ (Early Modern) /hɒrs/, /hɒːrs/ === Etymology 1 === From Middle English hors, horse, ors, from Old English hors (“horse”), from Proto-West Germanic *hors, *hross, from Proto-Germanic *hrussą (“horse”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós (“vehicle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of car and carrus. ==== Alternative forms ==== harse, hawss, hoss (regional, pronunciation spelling) ==== Noun ==== horse (countable and uncountable, plural horses) A hoofed mammal, Equus ferus caballus, often used throughout history for riding and draft work. Any member of the species Equus ferus, including the Przewalski's horse and the extinct Equus ferus ferus. (zoology) Any current or extinct animal of the family Equidae, including zebras and asses. (military, sometimes uncountable) Cavalry soldiers (sometimes capitalized when referring to an official category). A component of certain games. (chess, informal) The chess piece representing a knight, depicted as a horse. (xiangqi) A xiangqi piece that moves and captures one point orthogonally and then one point diagonally. (slang) A large and sturdy person. (historical) A timber frame shaped like a horse, which soldiers were made to ride for punishment. Synonyms: Morgan's mule, Spanish donkey Equipment with legs. In gymnastics, a piece of equipment with a body on two or four legs, approximately four feet high, sometimes (pommel horse) with two handles on top. A frame with legs, used to support something. (nautical) A type of equipment. A rope stretching along a yard, upon which men stand when reefing or furling the sails; footrope. A breastband for a leadsman. An iron bar for a sheet traveller to slide upon. A jackstay. (mining) A mass of earthy matter, or rock of the same character as the wall rock, occurring in the course of a vein, as of coal or ore; hence, to take horse (said of a vein) is to divide into branches for a distance. (US) An informal variant of basketball in which players match shots made by their opponent(s), each miss adding a letter to the word "horse", with 5 misses spelling the whole word and eliminating a player, until only the winner is left. Also HORSE, H-O-R-S-E or H.O.R.S.E. (see H-O-R-S-E on WikipediaWikipedia ). (uncountable) The flesh of a horse as an item of cuisine. (prison slang) A prison guard who smuggles contraband in or out for prisoners. (dated, slang, among students) A translation or other illegitimate aid in study or examination. (dated, slang, among students) Horseplay; tomfoolery. (poker slang) A player who has been staked, i.e. another player has paid for their buy-in and claims a percentage of any winnings. ===== Usage notes ===== The noun can be used attributively in compounds and phrases to add the sense of large or coarse. ===== Synonyms ===== (animal): caple (obsolete or dialectal), widge (poetic or archaic), cheval (obsolete), horsy, nag, prad, steed; see also Thesaurus:horse (gymnastic equipment): pommel horse, vaulting horse (chess piece): knight (food): horseflesh, horsemeat (illegitimate study aid): dobbin, pony, trot ===== Hyponyms ===== ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Descendants ===== Krio: ɔs Maroon Spirit Language: as, has Sranan Tongo: asiAukan: ásiSaramaccan: hási → Māori: hōiho → Quiripi: hosses (from the plural horses) ===== Translations ===== ===== See also ===== Horse-related English words === Etymology 2 === From Middle English horsen, from Old English horsian (“to horse, provide with horses”) and ġehorsian (“to horse, set or mount on a horse, supply with horses”), from the noun (see above). ==== Verb ==== horse (third-person singular simple present horses, present participle horsing, simple past and past participle horsed) (intransitive) Synonym of horse around. Synonyms: horse about, horse around (transitive) To play mischievous pranks on. (transitive) To provide with a horse; supply horses for. (obsolete) To get on horseback. To sit astride of; to bestride. (of a male horse) To copulate with (a mare). To take or carry on the back. To place (someone) on the back of another person, or on a wooden horse, chair, etc., to be flogged or punished. (by extension) To flog. (transitive) To pull, haul, or move (something) with great effort, like a horse would. (informal) To cram (food) quickly, indiscriminately or in great volume. (transitive, dated) To urge at work tyrannically. (intransitive, dated) To charge for work before it is finished. (dated, slang) To cheat at schoolwork by means of a translation or other illegitimate aid. ===== Derived terms ===== horse about horse around unhorse ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === Unknown; probably originally criminals' cant based on the initial letter of heroin and horse. ==== Noun ==== horse (uncountable) (slang) Heroin (drug). Synonyms: H, smack; see also Thesaurus:heroin ===== Descendants ===== → Swedish: horse ===== Translations ===== ===== Further reading ===== horse on Wikipedia.Wikipedia wild horse on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === References === === Anagrams === hoers, rohes, shoer, shero, shore, heros, hoser, Shore, RSeOH, Rohes == Middle English == === Etymology 1 === ==== Noun ==== horse alternative form of hors === Etymology 2 === ==== Adjective ==== horse alternative form of hos === Etymology 3 === ==== Verb ==== horse alternative form of horsen (“to provide with a horse”) == Norwegian Nynorsk == === Noun === horse f (definite singular horsa, indefinite plural horser, definite plural horsene) a mare (derogatory) frivolous woman === Verb === horse (present tense horsar, past tense horsa, past participle horsa, passive infinitive horsast, present participle horsande, imperative horse/hors) (intransitive, of a stallion) to run around amongst the mares (intransitive, of a man) to run around, chiefly drunkenly == Old English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈxor.se/, [ˈhorˠ.ze] === Noun === horse dative singular of hors == Scots == === Etymology === Inherited from Middle English hors, horse, from Old English hors, from Proto-West Germanic *hross, from Proto-Germanic *hrussą. === Noun === horse (plural horse) horse == Swedish == === Etymology === From English horse (“heroin”). Doublet of kärra and russ; related to karriär. === Noun === horse (slang) horse (heroin) Synonyms: häst, (brown heroin) jonk === References === Swedish Police Authority list of drug slang Slangopedia