foal

C2 Topic:Animals
US /foʊl/ UK /fəʊl/
noun verb Freq #27231

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a young horse or other equine, especially one less than a year old

    The chestnut foal stayed close to its mother in the pasture.

  2. 2
    verb

    for a mare or other female equine, to give birth to a foal

    The mare foaled safely during the night.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a young horse or other... young horseyoung equine
2 verb · for a mare or other female... give birth
Word family
Forms foaledunfoaled
Derived forms foalingfoalhoodfoalish
Related forms coltfillymareequine

Etymology

From Middle English fole, from Old English fola, from Proto-West Germanic *folō and Proto-Germanic *fulô, 'foal.' It is cognate with Dutch veulen and German Fohlen and ultimately belongs to an Indo-European family for the young of an animal, also reflected in Latin pullus. The verb, 'to give birth to a foal,' developed from the noun in Middle English.

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