Search for: Horses
6981 Etymology dictionary, p. coach-horse (n.).1
coach-horse (n.)
6982 Etymology dictionary, p. coach-horse (n.).2
"horse used or suitable for driving a coach," c. 1600, from coach (n.) + horse (n.).
6983 Etymology dictionary, p. coach-maker (n.).2
also coachmaker, "a maker of (horse-drawn) coaches," 1590s, from coach (n.) + maker .
6984 Etymology dictionary, p. cockhorse (n.).2
child's name for a horse, also a toy horse or rocking horse, 1540s, a nursery word of uncertain signification.
6985 Etymology dictionary, p. cocktail (n.).3
… cocktail "horse with a docked tail" (the word in this sense by 1796) because the word came to be extended to "horse of mixed pedigree" (not a thoroughbred) and this …
6986 Etymology dictionary, p. collar (n.).3
… a horse or other draught-animal."
6987 Etymology dictionary, p. color (n.).5
… -fighter, horse-rider, etc.), originally in reference to a coat of arms. Hence figurative sense as in show one's (true) colors "reveal one's opinions or intentions …
6988 Etymology dictionary, p. colt (n.).2
… young horse," also "young ass," in Biblical translations also used for "young camel," perhaps from Proto-Germanic *kultaz (source also of Swedish dialectal kult …
6989 Etymology dictionary, p. Conestoga.3
… of horses (1824) and a type of boot and cigar (see stogie ).
6990 Etymology dictionary, p. conkers (n.).2
"child's game played with horse chestnuts," originally with snail shells, 1876, probably a variant of conquer. The goal was to break the other player's item.
6991 Etymology dictionary, p. conker (n.).2
"snail shell" (said to date from 1847), also "horse chestnut" (said to date from 1886), both said to be from children's game of conkers (q.v.).
6992 Etymology dictionary, p. corral (n.).2
… for horses or cattle," from Spanish corral, from corro "ring," Portuguese curral, a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps ultimately African, or from Vulgar Latin …
6993 Etymology dictionary, p. courier (n.).2
… swift horse;" mid-14c., "a messenger sent with letters or despatches," from Anglo-French courrier, from Old French coreor "fast-running horse; messenger, scout," ultimately …
6994 Etymology dictionary, p. courser (n.).2
large, swift horse," c. 1300, from Old French corsier "fast horse, charger," literally "fast-running," from Vulgar Latin *cursarius, from Latin cursus "a running" (see course (n.)).
6995 Etymology dictionary, p. cover (v.).3
… a horse or other large male animal, as a euphemism for "copulate with" it dates from 1530s.
6996 Etymology dictionary, p. cozen (v.).2
… cocionem "horse dealer." Related: Cozened; cozening; cozenage .
6997 Etymology dictionary, p. cracker-jack (n.).2
also crackerjack, "something excellent," 1893, U.S. colloquialism, apparently a fanciful construction; the earliest use is in reference to racing horses. Compare cracker (n.1).
6998 Etymology dictionary, p. crazy (adj.).3
… . Crazy Horse, name of the Teton Lakhota (Siouan) war leader (d. 1877), translates thašuka witko, literally "his horse is crazy." Crazy-quilt (1886) preserves the original …
6999 Etymology dictionary, p. crestfallen (adj.).2
… diseased horses, and is rare. It's possible that the image behind this use of the word is not having the crest fallen, as a defeated cock does, but horses. Crest …
7000 Etymology dictionary, p. cropper (n.).2
"a fall, as in horseback riding, in which the rider is thrown over the horse's head," hence "a failure," 1858, perhaps from crop (n.) in the "top of the head" sense.