Meanings
alternative mortuus equus phobia
- humorousrareuncountableAn irrational fear of tomato ketchup or tomato-based sauces.
Yes, mortuusequusphobia is the fear of tomato ketchup.
2022 March 15, “Ketchup phobia is real – and it's called mortuusequusphobia”, in The Tab2 more examples
He literally cannot be in the same room as an open bottle of ketchup.
2020 July 19, “My boyfriend has mortuusequusphobia (fear of ketchup)”, in RedditMortuusequusphobia – the fear of ketchup. From Australian slang 'dead horse' meaning ketchup + Latin 'mortuus equus' (dead horse) + phobia.
2023 April 2, @weird_phobias, “Mortuusequusphobia – the fear of ketchup”, in Twitter
Origin
From Australian rhyming slang dead horse (meaning "tomato sauce" or "ketchup") + -phobia. The slang term dead horse is attested from the late 19th century in Australian and British slang. The pseudo-Latinism mortuus equus (literally "dead horse") was coined humorously to give the term a scientific-sounding name.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
mortuusequusphobia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mortuusequusphobia
“mortuusequusphobia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mortuusequusphobia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mortuusequusphobia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mortuusequusphobia.
Source: mortuusequusphobia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.