road horse

noun

A horse suitable for use on roadways; roadster.

OriginMiddle English rode hors ← Old English rādhors →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounroad horse (plural road horses)

plural road horses · alternative road-horse

  1. A horse suitable for use on roadways; roadster.
  2. obsoleteA horse for riding; saddle-horse.

Origin

  1. Old Englishrādhors“saddle-horse”
  2. Middle Englishrode hors
  3. Englishroad horse

From Middle English rode hors, rodehors, from Old English rādhors (“saddle-horse”), equivalent to road + horse.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

road horse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/road%20horse

MLA

“road horse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/road%20horse. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “road horse,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/road%20horse.

Source: road horse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.