horse

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A large four-legged animal that people ride and use for pulling loads.

   A cowboy's greatest friend is his horse.

2. 2
   verb

   To play around noisily or roughly.

   Stop horsing around and get back to work.

3. 3
   noun

   A piece of gymnastics equipment with legs that athletes jump over or perform on.

   Let's see how she does on the horse.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Horse is an ancient word with relatives in most northern European languages. Its root may also be the source of Latin currere, meaning “to run,” although this connection is uncertain.

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. Cognates Cognate with Scots horse (“horse”), West Frisian hoars (“horse”), Cimbrian ross (“horse”), Dutch hors, ros (“horse”), German Ross, Roß (“horse”), Danish and Norwegian Nynorsk hors (“horse, mare”), Faroese hors, ross (“horse”), Icelandic hross (“horse”), Swedish russ (“horse”); also Cornish karr (“car”), Welsh car (“car; ca…

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary