colt
English
Etymology
From Middle English colt, from Old English colt (“young donkey, young camel”), from Proto-Germanic *kultaz (“plump; stump; thick shape, bulb”), from Proto-Indo-European *gelt- (“something round, pregnant belly, child in the womb”), from *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). Cognate with Norwegian kult (“treestump”), Swedish kult (“young boar, boy, lad”). Related to child.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /kɒlt/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kəʊlt/, /kɔʊlt/
- (US) IPA(key): /koʊlt/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -əʊlt
Noun
colt (plural colts)
- A young male horse.
- Coordinate term: filly
- A young crane (bird).
- (figuratively) A youthful or inexperienced person; a novice.
- 1594, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, I. ii. 38:
- Ay, that's a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but / talk of his horse, and he makes it a great appropriation to / his own good parts that he can shoe him himself.
- 1594, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, I. ii. 38:
- (nautical) A short piece of rope once used by petty officers as an instrument of punishment.
- (biblical) A young camel or donkey.
Derived terms
Translations
young male horse
|
|
novice
rope
|
Verb
colt (third-person singular simple present colts, present participle colting, simple past and past participle colted)
- (obsolete, transitive) To horse; to get with young.
- 1610, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Cymbeline, II. iv. 133:
- Never talk on't: / She hath been colted by him.
- 1610, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Cymbeline, II. iv. 133:
- (obsolete, transitive) To befool.
- 1594, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 1, II. ii. 36:
- What a plague mean ye to colt me thus?
- 1594, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 1, II. ii. 36:
- To frisk or frolic like a colt; to act licentiously or wantonly.
- Spenser
- They shook off their bridles and began to colt.
- Spenser
References
- colt in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old English colt, from Proto-Germanic *kultaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔlt/, /kɔːlt/
References
- “colt (n.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-08-12.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.