Pakhorse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A sturdy horse bred or trained to carry heavy loads of merchandise across difficult mountain terrain
2. A pack animal employed to transport goods through mountainous or remote regions where wheeled vehicles cannot travel
3. A horse equipped to bear cargo across alpine passes and rough mountain paths as a beast of burden

Etymology: Pakhorse is a compound of "pack" and "horse", and its sense is literal: a horse that carries goods on its back, rather than pulling a cart or carrying a rider. The first element comes from Old English "pæc", a bundle or load, and the word was used for animals loaded with baggage long before it was used for anything else. The compound is transparent, so there is little mystery in how it was formed. Its interest lies in the way it sits alongside its near relatives. "Packhorse" and "pack animal" describe the same job, and the term usually implies a steady, slow sort of transport, the kind of work that linked remote villages and trading routes before wheeled roads were common in many regions.

Synonyms: packhorse, pack animal