Carthorse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A robust breed of horse commonly employed for agricultural labor and hauling goods
2. An equine type renowned for its physical strength and suitability for farm duties and carting
3. A type of horse known for its great strength and endurance, typically used to pull heavy loads or work on farms

Etymology: A carthorse is about as plain a compound as English offers: a cart, the two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicle for hauling loads, joined to horse, the animal that pulled it. The word reached English in Middle English as "carthors" and "cartehors," and its ancestor appears in Old English as "crætehors," so the pairing is old enough that it was already standard in the language centuries before the modern era. The compound is transparent in a way many English words are not. Its first element, cart, comes from Old English "cræt" and so has been part of the language since the earliest written records, which makes the word a native English formation rather than a borrowing. Nothing about its meaning has shifted over time: it still names the heavy, patient horse that hauled goods, which is exactly what the two parts of the word promise.

Synonyms: draft horse