Search for: +Horses
7001 Etymology dictionary, p. croupier (n.).2
… a horse (a word of Germanic origin); hence extended to any one who backs up another; a "second."
7002 Etymology dictionary, p. curb (v.).2
1520s, of horses, "to lead to a curb," from curb (n.). Figurative sense of "bend to one's will, hold in check" is from 1580s. Related: Curbed; curbing .
7003 Etymology dictionary, p. curb (n.).2
… a horse" (attached to the bit of the bridle and used to restrain the animal), from Old French courbe "curb on a horse" (12c.), from Latin curvus, from curvare "to bend," from …
7004 Etymology dictionary, p. curry (v.).2
… a horse," from Anglo-French curreier "to curry-comb a horse," from Old French correier "put in order, prepare, curry," from con-, intensive prefix (see com- ), + reier "arrange …
7005 Etymology dictionary, p. curry (v.).3
… chestnut horse," chestnut horses in medieval French allegories being symbols of cunning and deceit. Compare German den falben (hengst) streichen "to flatter …
7006 Etymology dictionary, p. curry (v.).4
… -colored horse, dark-colored thing, dull," for which see Fauvist. The secondary sense here is entangled with similar-sounding Old French favele "lying, deception …
7007 Etymology dictionary, p. curtail (v.).3
… to horses with docked tails. Compare curtal, which is the form retained in poetics to describe a "shortened" stanza or poem. Related: Curtailed; curtailing; curtailment …
7008 Etymology dictionary, p. cuss (v.).3
The loss of -r- before -s- is not uncommon: Compare arse / ass (n.2), burst / bust, horse / hoss, barse / bass, garsh / gash, parcel/passel .
7009 Etymology dictionary, p. daisy (n.).4
… trotting horse," especially one that trots with low steps; later of cricket (1889) and baseball hits that skim along the ground. Daisy-chain is used in various …
7010 Etymology dictionary, p. dappled (adj.).2
… a horse, based on resemblance to the markings on an apple (compare Old Norse apalgrar "dapple-gray").
7011 Etymology dictionary, p. dappled (adj.).4
Also, for origin of the sense, compare Middle English shimed (mid-15c.), of a horse, "dappled, dapple-gray," etymologically "shadowed," related to Old English scima "shade, glimmer."
7012 Etymology dictionary, p. dark (adj.).5
… from horse racing, of horses whose performances or capabilities are not generally known, in which dark is used in its figurative sense of "unknown."
7013 Etymology dictionary, p. dashboard (n.).2
… the horse's hoofs," from dash (v.) + board (n.1). Of motor vehicles, "panel under the windshield, on which control panels and gauges are mounted,” by 1904. Except for the …
7014 Etymology dictionary, p. dead-lift (n.).2
1550s, "a pull exerting the utmost effort (of a horse), from dead (adj.) + lift (n.). From 1560s in figurative sense of "a position in which one can do no more;" by 1882 as "an effort involving the whole strength."
7015 Etymology dictionary, p. derby (n.).2
… Derby horse race, the most important in England, was begun 1780 by the 12th Earl of Derby and run at Epsom, Surrey; the name was used for any major horse race after …
7016 Etymology dictionary, p. destrier (n.).2
… , "riding horse of a noble breed, war horse," c. 1300, from Old French destrer, destrier (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *dextrarius "led by the right hand," from Latin dextra, fem …
7017 Etymology dictionary, p. desultory (adj.).2
… one horse to another while they are in gallop," from desul-, stem of desilire "jump down," from de "down" (see de- ) + salire "to jump, leap" (see salient (adj.)). Sense of "irregular …
7018 Etymology dictionary, p. devil (n.).7
… coach-horse is from 1840, the large rove-beetle, which is defiant when disturbed. Devil's food cake (1895; three different recipes in the cookbook "compiled …
7019 Etymology dictionary, p. dicky (n.).2
… , a horse-cloth."
7020 Etymology dictionary, p. dismount (v.).2
… a horse or other ridden animal" is from 1580s; transitive sense of "throw or bring down from a horse" is from 1610s. Meaning "remove (a gem, picture, etc.) from a frame …