Dictionary

horsy en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈhɔːsi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈhɔɹsi/ (General-American)

Etymology

From horse + -y. Cognate with Middle Low German rössich (“horselike, equipped with a horse”).

Meanings

1. Of, relating to, or similar to horses.
   • Pirates, these women, with their ladylike briefcases for the loot and their horsy, acquisitive teeth. 1985, Margaret Atwood, “Soul Scrolls”, in The Handmaid’s Tale, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland and Stewart, →ISBN, page 165:
   • All the horses had been seized and sent to the front, but the whole place still smelt of horse-piss and rotten oats. I was at the barracks about a week. Chiefly I remember the horsy smells, the quavering bugle-calls […] 1938 April, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter I, in Homage to Catalonia, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC:
2. (of a person or people) Involved in breeding or riding horses.
3. (of a graphic design or typographical treatment) Clumsy, clunky, bulky, inelegant, or unrefined.
   • Near-synonym: crude

Forms

Antonyms

unhorsy · unhorsy · unhorsy

Coordinates

cheesy

Deriveds

horsily · horsiness · unhorsy

Relateds

horseliness

Synonyms

horsely · equine · horselike · crude

Translations (16)

ru лошади́ный (of or relating to horses) · es caballar (of or relating to horses) · pl koński (of or relating to horses) · de pferdisch (of or relating to horses) · cs koňský (of or relating to horses) · ru ко́нский (of or relating to horses) · bg конен (of or relating to horses) · yi פֿערדיש (of or relating to horses) · eo ĉevala (of or relating to horses) · es caballuno (of or relating to horses) · io kavalala (of or relating to horses) · fi hevosmainen (of or relating to horses) · bg конски (of or relating to horses) · fi hevos- (of or relating to horses) · fr chevalin (of or relating to horses) · de Pferd- (of or relating to horses)

horsy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈhɔːsi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈhɔɹsi/ (General-American)

Etymology

From horse + -y. Cognate with Middle Low German rössich (“horselike, equipped with a horse”).

Meanings

1. (childish, endearing) A child's term or name for a horse.
2. A game where a child rides on the back of another, who is on all fours.
   • The best barometer of my mounting physical limitations was the game of horsy. In my stallion's prime I could pack three little boys on my back at once and do the length of the hall in no time flat. 2005, Larry L. Meyer, No Paltry Thing: Memoirs Of A Geezer Dad:
   • When he got in the house, if I'd left him to read his newspaper in quiet, then he'd play horsey with me, riding me around the house on his back; I'd put a pillow on his back for my saddle 2000, Anique Devoe, I'm Ready:
   • When you get down on the floor and play “horsey”, you are giving yourself a heck of a workout – and it is fun for the kids! 2003, Bill Phillips, Eating for Life: Your Guide to Great Health, Fat Loss and Increased Energy:

Forms

Synonyms

gee-gee

Translations (13)

es caballito (a child's term or name for a horse) · pl konik (a child's term or name for a horse) · pt cavalinho (a child's term or name for a horse) · ja お馬さん (a child's term or name for a horse) · fi heppa (a child's term or name for a horse) · de Pferdchen (a child's term or name for a horse) · ru лоша́дка (a child's term or name for a horse) · sv rida häst (a child's term or name for a horse) · ru конёк (a child's term or name for a horse) · hu paci (a child's term or name for a horse) · fr dada (a child's term or name for a horse) · uk ко́ник (a child's term or name for a horse) · lv zirdziņš (a child's term or name for a horse)