Horse \Horse\ (h[^o]rs), n. [AS. hors; akin to OS. hros, D. &
OHG. ros, G. ross, Icel. hross; and perh. to L. currere to
run, E. course, current Cf. Walrus.]
1. (Zool.) A hoofed quadruped of the genus Equus;
especially, the domestic horse (Equus caballus), which
was domesticated in Egypt and Asia at a very early period.
It has six broad molars, on each side of each jaw, with
six incisors, and two canine teeth, both above and below.
The mares usually have the canine teeth rudimentary or
wanting. The horse differs from the true asses, in having
a long, flowing mane, and the tail bushy to the base.
Unlike the asses it has callosities, or chestnuts, on all
its legs. The horse excels in strength, speed, docility,
courage, and nobleness of character, and is used for
drawing, carrying, bearing a rider, and like purposes.
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Note: Many varieties, differing in form, size, color, gait,
speed, etc., are known, but all are believed to have
been derived from the same original species. It is
supposed to have been a native of the plains of Central
Asia, but the wild species from which it was derived is
not certainly known. The feral horses of America are
domestic horses that have run wild; and it is probably
true that most of those of Asia have a similar origin.
Some of the true wild Asiatic horses do, however,
approach the domestic horse in several characteristics.
Several species of fossil (Equus) are known from the
later Tertiary formations of Europe and America. The
fossil species of other genera of the family
Equid[ae] are also often called horses, in general
sense.
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2. The male of the genus Equus, in distinction from the
female or male; usually, a castrated male.
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3. Mounted soldiery; cavalry; -- used without the plural
termination; as, a regiment of horse; -- distinguished
from foot.
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The armies were appointed, consisting of twenty-five
thousand horse and foot. --Bacon.
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4. A frame with legs, used to support something; as, a
clotheshorse, a sawhorse, etc.
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5. A frame of timber, shaped like a horse, on which soldiers
were made to ride for punishment.
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6. Anything, actual or figurative, on which one rides as on a
horse; a hobby.
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7. (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.
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8. (Naut.)
(a) See Footrope, a.
(b) A breastband for a leadsman.
(c) An iron bar for a sheet traveler to slide upon.
(d) A jackstay. --W. C. Russell. --Totten.
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9. (Student Slang)
(a) A translation or other illegitimate aid in study or
examination; -- called also trot, pony, Dobbin.
(b) Horseplay; tomfoolery.
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10. heroin. [slang]
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11. horsepower. [Colloq. contraction]
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Note: Horse is much used adjectively and in composition to
signify of, or having to do with, a horse or horses,
like a horse, etc.; as, horse collar, horse dealer or
horse?dealer, horsehoe, horse jockey; and hence, often
in the sense of strong, loud, coarse, etc.; as,
horselaugh, horse nettle or horse-nettle, horseplay,
horse ant, etc.
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Black horse, Blood horse, etc. See under Black, etc.
Horse aloes, caballine aloes.
Horse ant (Zool.), a large ant (Formica rufa); -- called
also horse emmet.
Horse artillery, that portion of the artillery in which the
cannoneers are mounted, and which usually serves with the
cavalry; flying artillery.
Horse balm (Bot.), a strong-scented labiate plant
(Collinsonia Canadensis), having large leaves and
yellowish flowers.
Horse bean (Bot.), a variety of the English or Windsor bean
(Faba vulgaris), grown for feeding horses.
Horse boat, a boat for conveying horses and cattle, or a
boat propelled by horses.
Horse bot. (Zool.) See Botfly, and Bots.
Horse box, a railroad car for transporting valuable horses,
as hunters. [Eng.]
Horse breaker or Horse trainer, one employed in subduing
or training horses for use.
Horse car.
(a) A railroad car drawn by horses. See under Car.
(b) A car fitted for transporting horses.
Horse cassia (Bot.), a leguminous plant (Cassia
Javanica), bearing long pods, which contain a black,
catharic pulp, much used in the East Indies as a horse
medicine.
Horse cloth, a cloth to cover a horse.
Horse conch (Zool.), a large, spiral, marine shell of the
genus Triton. See Triton.
Horse courser.
(a) One that runs horses, or keeps horses for racing.
--Johnson.
(b) A dealer in horses. [Obs.] --Wiseman.
Horse crab (Zool.), the Limulus; -- called also
horsefoot, horsehoe crab, and king crab.
Horse crevall['e] (Zool.), the cavally.
Horse emmet (Zool.), the horse ant.
Horse finch (Zool.), the chaffinch. [Prov. Eng.]
Horse gentian (Bot.), fever root.
Horse iron (Naut.), a large calking iron.
Horse latitudes, a space in the North Atlantic famous for
calms and baffling winds, being between the westerly winds
of higher latitudes and the trade winds. --Ham. Nav.
Encyc.
Horse mackrel. (Zool.)
(a) The common tunny (Orcynus thunnus), found on the
Atlantic coast of Europe and America, and in the
Mediterranean.
(b) The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix).
(c) The scad.
(d) The name is locally applied to various other fishes,
as the California hake, the black candlefish, the
jurel, the bluefish, etc.
Horse marine (Naut.), an awkward, lubbery person; one of a
mythical body of marine cavalry. [Slang]
Horse mussel (Zool.), a large, marine mussel (Modiola
modiolus), found on the northern shores of Europe and
America.
Horse nettle (Bot.), a coarse, prickly, American herb, the
Solanum Carolinense.
Horse parsley. (Bot.) See Alexanders.
Horse purslain (Bot.), a coarse fleshy weed of tropical
America (Trianthema monogymnum).
Horse race, a race by horses; a match of horses in running
or trotting.
Horse racing, the practice of racing with horses.
Horse railroad, a railroad on which the cars are drawn by
horses; -- in England, and sometimes in the United States,
called a tramway.
Horse run (Civil Engin.), a device for drawing loaded
wheelbarrows up an inclined plane by horse power.
Horse sense, strong common sense. [Colloq. U.S.]
Horse soldier, a cavalryman.
Horse sponge (Zool.), a large, coarse, commercial sponge
(Spongia equina).
Horse stinger (Zool.), a large dragon fly. [Prov. Eng.]
Horse sugar (Bot.), a shrub of the southern part of the
United States (Symplocos tinctoria), whose leaves are
sweet, and good for fodder.
Horse tick (Zool.), a winged, dipterous insect (Hippobosca
equina), which troubles horses by biting them, and
sucking their blood; -- called also horsefly, horse
louse, and forest fly.
Horse vetch (Bot.), a plant of the genus Hippocrepis
(Hippocrepis comosa), cultivated for the beauty of its
flowers; -- called also horsehoe vetch, from the
peculiar shape of its pods.
Iron horse, a locomotive. [Colloq.]
Salt horse, the sailor's name for salt beef.
To look a gift horse in the mouth, to examine the mouth of
a horse which has been received as a gift, in order to
ascertain his age; -- hence, to accept favors in a
critical and thankless spirit. --Lowell.
To take horse.
(a) To set out on horseback. --Macaulay.
(b) To be covered, as a mare.
(c) See definition 7 (above).
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Wood \Wood\, n. [OE. wode, wude, AS. wudu, wiodu; akin to OHG.
witu, Icel. vi?r, Dan. & Sw. ved wood, and probably to Ir. &
Gael. fiodh, W. gwydd trees, shrubs.]
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1. A large and thick collection of trees; a forest or grove;
-- frequently used in the plural.
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Light thickens, and the crow
Makes wing to the rooky wood. --Shak.
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2. The substance of trees and the like; the hard fibrous
substance which composes the body of a tree and its
branches, and which is covered by the bark; timber. "To
worship their own work in wood and stone for gods."
--Milton.
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3. (Bot.) The fibrous material which makes up the greater
part of the stems and branches of trees and shrubby
plants, and is found to a less extent in herbaceous stems.
It consists of elongated tubular or needle-shaped cells of
various kinds, usually interwoven with the shinning bands
called silver grain.
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Note: Wood consists chiefly of the carbohydrates cellulose
and lignin, which are isomeric with starch.
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4. Trees cut or sawed for the fire or other uses.
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Wood acid, Wood vinegar (Chem.), a complex acid liquid
obtained in the dry distillation of wood, and containing
large quantities of acetic acid; hence, specifically,
acetic acid. Formerly called pyroligneous acid.
Wood anemone (Bot.), a delicate flower (Anemone nemorosa)
of early spring; -- also called windflower. See Illust.
of Anemone.
Wood ant (Zool.), a large ant (Formica rufa) which lives
in woods and forests, and constructs large nests.
Wood apple (Bot.). See Elephant apple, under Elephant.
Wood baboon (Zool.), the drill.
Wood betony. (Bot.)
(a) Same as Betony.
(b) The common American lousewort (Pedicularis
Canadensis), a low perennial herb with yellowish or
purplish flowers.
Wood borer. (Zool.)
(a) The larva of any one of numerous species of boring
beetles, esp. elaters, longicorn beetles,
buprestidans, and certain weevils. See Apple borer,
under Apple, and Pine weevil, under Pine.
(b) The larva of any one of various species of
lepidopterous insects, especially of the clearwing
moths, as the peach-tree borer (see under Peach),
and of the goat moths.
(c) The larva of various species of hymenopterous of the
tribe Urocerata. See Tremex.
(d) Any one of several bivalve shells which bore in wood,
as the teredos, and species of Xylophaga.
(e) Any one of several species of small Crustacea, as the
Limnoria, and the boring amphipod (Chelura
terebrans).
Wood carpet, a kind of floor covering made of thin pieces
of wood secured to a flexible backing, as of cloth.
--Knight.
Wood cell (Bot.), a slender cylindrical or prismatic cell
usually tapering to a point at both ends. It is the
principal constituent of woody fiber.
Wood choir, the choir, or chorus, of birds in the woods.
[Poetic] --Coleridge.
Wood coal, charcoal; also, lignite, or brown coal.
Wood cricket (Zool.), a small European cricket (Nemobius
sylvestris).
Wood culver (Zool.), the wood pigeon.
Wood cut, an engraving on wood; also, a print from such an
engraving.
Wood dove (Zool.), the stockdove.
Wood drink, a decoction or infusion of medicinal woods.
Wood duck (Zool.)
(a) A very beautiful American duck (Aix sponsa). The
male has a large crest, and its plumage is varied with
green, purple, black, white, and red. It builds its
nest in trees, whence the name. Called also bridal
duck, summer duck, and wood widgeon.
(b) The hooded merganser.
(c) The Australian maned goose (Chlamydochen jubata).
Wood echo, an echo from the wood.
Wood engraver.
(a) An engraver on wood.
(b) (Zool.) Any of several species of small beetles whose
larvae bore beneath the bark of trees, and excavate
furrows in the wood often more or less resembling
coarse engravings; especially, Xyleborus
xylographus.
Wood engraving.
(a) The act or art engraving on wood; xylography.
(b) An engraving on wood; a wood cut; also, a print from
such an engraving.
Wood fern. (Bot.) See Shield fern, under Shield.
Wood fiber.
(a) (Bot.) Fibrovascular tissue.
(b) Wood comminuted, and reduced to a powdery or dusty
mass.
Wood fretter (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
beetles whose larvae bore in the wood, or beneath the
bark, of trees.
Wood frog (Zool.), a common North American frog (Rana
sylvatica) which lives chiefly in the woods, except
during the breeding season. It is drab or yellowish brown,
with a black stripe on each side of the head.
Wood germander. (Bot.) See under Germander.
Wood god, a fabled sylvan deity.
Wood grass. (Bot.) See under Grass.
Wood grouse. (Zool.)
(a) The capercailzie.
(b) The spruce partridge. See under Spruce.
Wood guest (Zool.), the ringdove. [Prov. Eng.]
Wood hen. (Zool.)
(a) Any one of several species of Old World short-winged
rails of the genus Ocydromus, including the weka and
allied species.
(b) The American woodcock.
Wood hoopoe (Zool.), any one of several species of Old
World arboreal birds belonging to Irrisor and allied
genera. They are closely allied to the common hoopoe, but
have a curved beak, and a longer tail.
Wood ibis (Zool.), any one of several species of large,
long-legged, wading birds belonging to the genus
Tantalus. The head and neck are naked or scantily
covered with feathers. The American wood ibis (Tantalus
loculator) is common in Florida.
Wood lark (Zool.), a small European lark (Alauda
arborea), which, like, the skylark, utters its notes
while on the wing. So called from its habit of perching on
trees.
Wood laurel (Bot.), a European evergreen shrub (Daphne
Laureola).
Wood leopard (Zool.), a European spotted moth (Zeuzera
aesculi) allied to the goat moth. Its large fleshy larva
bores in the wood of the apple, pear, and other fruit
trees.
Wood lily (Bot.), the lily of the valley.
Wood lock (Naut.), a piece of wood close fitted and
sheathed with copper, in the throating or score of the
pintle, to keep the rudder from rising.
Wood louse (Zool.)
(a) Any one of numerous species of terrestrial isopod
Crustacea belonging to Oniscus, Armadillo, and
related genera. See Sow bug, under Sow, and Pill
bug, under Pill.
(b) Any one of several species of small, wingless,
pseudoneuropterous insects of the family Psocidae,
which live in the crevices of walls and among old
books and papers. Some of the species are called also
book lice, and deathticks, or deathwatches.
Wood mite (Zool.), any one of numerous small mites of the
family Oribatidae. They are found chiefly in woods, on
tree trunks and stones.
Wood mote. (Eng. Law)
(a) Formerly, the forest court.
(b) The court of attachment.
Wood nettle. (Bot.) See under Nettle.
Wood nightshade (Bot.), woody nightshade.
Wood nut (Bot.), the filbert.
Wood nymph. (a) A nymph inhabiting the woods; a fabled
goddess of the woods; a dryad. "The wood nymphs, decked
with daisies trim." --Milton.
(b) (Zool.) Any one of several species of handsomely
colored moths belonging to the genus Eudryas. The
larvae are bright-colored, and some of the species, as
Eudryas grata, and Eudryas unio, feed on the
leaves of the grapevine.
(c) (Zool.) Any one of several species of handsomely
colored South American humming birds belonging to the
genus Thalurania. The males are bright blue, or
green and blue.
Wood offering, wood burnt on the altar.
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We cast the lots . . . for the wood offering. --Neh.
x. 34.
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Wood oil (Bot.), a resinous oil obtained from several East
Indian trees of the genus Dipterocarpus, having
properties similar to those of copaiba, and sometimes
substituted for it. It is also used for mixing paint. See
Gurjun.
Wood opal (Min.), a striped variety of coarse opal, having
some resemblance to wood.
Wood paper, paper made of wood pulp. See Wood pulp,
below.
Wood pewee (Zool.), a North American tyrant flycatcher
(Contopus virens). It closely resembles the pewee, but
is smaller.
Wood pie (Zool.), any black and white woodpecker,
especially the European great spotted woodpecker.
Wood pigeon. (Zool.)
(a) Any one of numerous species of Old World pigeons
belonging to Palumbus and allied genera of the
family Columbidae.
(b) The ringdove.
Wood puceron (Zool.), a plant louse.
Wood pulp (Technol.), vegetable fiber obtained from the
poplar and other white woods, and so softened by digestion
with a hot solution of alkali that it can be formed into
sheet paper, etc. It is now produced on an immense scale.
Wood quail (Zool.), any one of several species of East
Indian crested quails belonging to Rollulus and allied
genera, as the red-crested wood quail (Rollulus
roulroul), the male of which is bright green, with a long
crest of red hairlike feathers.
Wood rabbit (Zool.), the cottontail.
Wood rat (Zool.), any one of several species of American
wild rats of the genus Neotoma found in the Southern
United States; -- called also bush rat. The Florida wood
rat (Neotoma Floridana) is the best-known species.
Wood reed grass (Bot.), a tall grass (Cinna arundinacea)
growing in moist woods.
Wood reeve, the steward or overseer of a wood. [Eng.]
Wood rush (Bot.), any plant of the genus Luzula,
differing from the true rushes of the genus Juncus
chiefly in having very few seeds in each capsule.
Wood sage (Bot.), a name given to several labiate plants of
the genus Teucrium. See Germander.
Wood screw, a metal screw formed with a sharp thread, and
usually with a slotted head, for insertion in wood.
Wood sheldrake (Zool.), the hooded merganser.
Wood shock (Zool.), the fisher. See Fisher, 2.
Wood shrike (Zool.), any one of numerous species of Old
World singing birds belonging to Grallina,
Collyricincla, Prionops, and allied genera, common in
India and Australia. They are allied to the true shrikes,
but feed upon both insects and berries.
Wood snipe. (Zool.)
(a) The American woodcock.
(b) An Asiatic snipe (Gallinago nemoricola).
Wood soot, soot from burnt wood.
Wood sore. (Zool.) See Cuckoo spit, under Cuckoo.
Wood sorrel (Bot.), a plant of the genus Oxalis (Oxalis
Acetosella), having an acid taste. See Illust. (a) of
Shamrock.
Wood spirit. (Chem.) See Methyl alcohol, under Methyl.
Wood stamp, a carved or engraved block or stamp of wood,
for impressing figures or colors on fabrics.
Wood star (Zool.), any one of several species of small
South American humming birds belonging to the genus
Calothorax. The male has a brilliant gorget of blue,
purple, and other colors.
Wood sucker (Zool.), the yaffle.
Wood swallow (Zool.), any one of numerous species of Old
World passerine birds belonging to the genus Artamus and
allied genera of the family Artamidae. They are common
in the East Indies, Asia, and Australia. In form and
habits they resemble swallows, but in structure they
resemble shrikes. They are usually black above and white
beneath.
Wood tapper (Zool.), any woodpecker.
Wood tar. See under Tar.
Wood thrush, (Zool.)
(a) An American thrush (Turdus mustelinus) noted for the
sweetness of its song. See under Thrush.
(b) The missel thrush.
Wood tick. See in Vocabulary.
Wood tin. (Min.). See Cassiterite.
Wood titmouse (Zool.), the goldcgest.
Wood tortoise (Zool.), the sculptured tortoise. See under
Sculptured.
Wood vine (Bot.), the white bryony.
Wood vinegar. See Wood acid, above.
Wood warbler. (Zool.)
(a) Any one of numerous species of American warblers of
the genus Dendroica. See Warbler.
(b) A European warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix); --
called also green wren, wood wren, and yellow
wren.
Wood worm (Zool.), a larva that bores in wood; a wood
borer.
Wood wren. (Zool.)
(a) The wood warbler.
(b) The willow warbler.
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