Horselike

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having physical traits or behavioral aspects similar to a horse
2. Characterized by features, mannerisms, or qualities that evoke the essence of a horse
3. Exhibiting traits or habits that are typical of horses

Etymology: "Horselike" is a plain compound: "horse" joined to the suffix "-like," which is itself a native English formation. The suffix descends from an Old English word, "-līċ," which was built from a root meaning "body" or "form," so that "-like" once meant something close to "having the body or appearance of." Attaching it to "horse" produces a word meaning, quite literally, "having the form of a horse." "Horse" has a long pedigree. Its ancestors reach back through Proto-Germanic "hrussą" and, further back, to Proto-Indo-Iranian roots, though in Old English the word was "hors," a term for the animal in general. The suffix, meanwhile, has been productive in English for over a thousand years, giving us words like "godlike" and "childlike" with the same easy transparency. "Horselike" simply applies that old machinery to the animal, describing creatures, traits, or manners that resemble a horse.

Synonyms: equine, horse-like