Etymology

colt

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Today it means: A young male horse or similar young male equine, especially just after birth or less than a year old. Full definition →

Middle English colt ← Old English colt ← Proto-Germanic *kultaz
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colt · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gelt-“something round, pregnant belly, child in the womb”
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*kultaz“plump; stump; thick shape, bulb”
  3. Old English · inherited fromcolt
  4. Middle English · inherited fromcolt
  5. English todaycolt

From Middle English colt, from Old English colt, 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 Faroese koltur (“colt, foal”) Norwegian kult (“treestump”), Swedish kult (“young boar, piglet, boy, lad”) / Swedish kulting (“piglet”). Related to child.

Colt · proper noun, noun2

From colt, as a nickname or occupational name for someone who looked after horses and asses. The given name may also be short for Colton. The revolver is named after American inventor Samuel Colt (1814–1862).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*gelt- all →

kilt

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.