Horridness Hor"rid·ness noun The quality of being horrid.

Horrific Hor·rif"ic adjective [ Latin horrifieus ; horrere to be horrible + -ficare (in comp.) to make: confer French horrifique . See Horror , - fy .] Causing horror; frightful.

Let . . . nothing ghastly or horrific be supposed.

I. Taylor.

Horrification Hor`ri·fi·ca"tion noun That which causes horror. [ R.] Miss Edgeworth.

Horrify Hor"ri·fy transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Horrified ; present participle & verbal noun Horrifying .] [ Latin horrificare . See Horrific .] To cause to feel horror; to strike or impress with horror; as, the sight horrified the beholders. E. Irving.

Horripilation Hor·rip`i·la"tion noun [ Latin horripilatio , from horripilare to bristle; horrere to bristle + pilus the hair: confer French horripilation .] (Medicine) A real or fancied bristling of the hair of the head or body, resulting from disease, terror, chilliness, etc.

Horrisonant Hor·ris"o·nant adjective Horrisonous. [ Obsolete]

Horrisonous Hor·ris"o·nous adjective [ Latin horrisonus ; horrere to be horrible + sonus a sound.] Sounding dreadfully; uttering a terrible sound. [ Obsolete] Bailey.

Horror Hor"ror noun [ Formerly written horrour .] [ Latin horror , from horrere to bristle, to shiver, to tremble with cold or dread, to be dreadful or terrible; confer Sanskrit h...sh to bristle.] 1. A bristling up; a rising into roughness; tumultuous movement. [ Archaic]

Such fresh horror as you see driven through the wrinkled waves.

Chapman. 2. A shaking, shivering, or shuddering, as in the cold fit which precedes a fever; in old medical writings, a chill of less severity than a rigor , and more marked than an algor . 3. A painful emotion of fear, dread, and abhorrence; a shuddering with terror and detestation; the feeling inspired by something frightful and shocking.

How could this, in the sight of heaven, without horrors of conscience be uttered?

Milton. 4. That which excites horror or dread, or is horrible; gloom; dreariness.

Breathes a browner horror on the woods.

Pope. The horrors , delirium tremens. [ Colloq.]

Horror-sticken Hor"ror-stick`en adjective Struck with horror; horrified.

Blank and horror-stricken faces.

C. Kingsley.

Horror-struck Hor"ror-struck` adjective Horror- stricken; horrified. M. Arnold.

Hors d'œuvre Hors` d'œuvre" ; plural Hors d'œuveres . [ French, lit., outside of work.] 1. Something unusual or extraordinary. [ R.] 2. A dish served as a relish, usually at the beginning of a meal.

Hors de combat Hors` de com`bat" [ French] Out of the combat; disabled from fighting.

Horse Horse (hôrs) noun [ Anglo-Saxon hors ; akin to Old Saxon hros , D. & Old High German ros , German ross , Icelandic hross ; and perhaps to Latin currere to run, English course , current Confer Walrus .] 1. (Zoology) A hoofed quadruped of the genus Equus ; especially, the domestic horse ( E. caballus ), which was domesticated in Egypt and Asia at a very early period. It has six broad molars, on each side of each jaw, with six incisors, and two canine teeth, both above and below. The mares usually have the canine teeth rudimentary or wanting. The horse differs from the true asses, in having a long, flowing mane, and the tail bushy to the base. Unlike the asses it has callosities, or chestnuts, on all its legs. The horse excels in strength, speed, docility, courage, and nobleness of character, and is used for drawing, carrying, bearing a rider, and like purposes. » Many varieties, differing in form, size, color, gait, speed, etc., are known, but all are believed to have been derived from the same original species. It is supposed to have been a native of the plains of Central Asia, but the wild species from which it was derived is not certainly known. The feral horses of America are domestic horses that have run wild; and it is probably true that most of those of Asia have a similar origin. Some of the true wild Asiatic horses do, however, approach the domestic horse in several characteristics.
Several species of fossil ( Equus ) are known from the later Tertiary formations of Europe and America. The fossil species of other genera of the family Equidæ are also often called horses , in general sense. 2. The male of the genus horse, in distinction from the female or male; usually, a castrated male. 3. Mounted soldiery; cavalry; -- used without the plural termination; as, a regiment of horse ; -- distinguished from foot .

The armies were appointed, consisting of twenty-five thousand horse and foot.

Bacon. 4. A frame with legs, used to support something; as, a clothes horse , a saw horse , etc. 5. A frame of timber, shaped like a horse, on which soldiers were made to ride for punishment. 6. Anything, actual or figurative, on which one rides as on a horse; a hobby. 7. (Mining) A mass of earthy matter, or rock of the same character as the wall rock, occurring in the course of a vein, as of coal or ore; hence, to take horse -- said of a vein -- is to divide into branches for a distance. 8. (Nautical) (a) See Footrope , adjective (b) A breastband for a leadsman. (c) An iron bar for a sheet traveler to slide upon. (d) A jackstay. W. C. Russell. Totten. » Horse is much used adjectively and in composition to signify of , or having to do with , a horse or horses , like a horse , etc.; as, horse collar, horse dealer or horse ...dealer, horse hoe, horse jockey; and hence, often in the sense of strong , loud , coarse , etc.; as, horse laugh, horse nettle or horse -nettle, horse play, horse ant, etc. Black horse , Blood horse , etc. See under Black , etc. -- Horse aloes , caballine aloes. -- Horse ant (Zoology) , a large ant ( Formica rufa ); -- called also horse emmet . -- Horse artillery , that portion of the artillery in which the cannoneers are mounted, and which usually serves with the cavalry; flying artillery. -- Horse balm (Botany) , a strong-scented labiate plant ( Collinsonia Canadensis ), having large leaves and yellowish flowers. -- Horse bean (Botany) , a variety of the English or Windsor bean ( Faba vulgaris ), grown for feeding horses. -- Horse boat , a boat for conveying horses and cattle, or a boat propelled by horses. -- Horse bot . (Zoology) See Botfly , and Bots . -- Horse box , a railroad car for transporting valuable horses, as hunters. [ Eng.] -- Horse breaker or trainer , one employed in subduing or training horses for use. -- Horse car . (a) A railroad car drawn by horses. See under Car . (b) A car fitted for transporting horses. -- Horse cassia (Botany) , a leguminous plant ( Cassia Javanica ), bearing long pods, which contain a black, catharic pulp, much used in the East Indies as a horse medicine. -- Horse cloth , a cloth to cover a horse. -- Horse conch (Zoology) , a large, spiral, marine shell of the genus Triton. See Triton . -- Horse courser . (a) One that runs horses, or keeps horses for racing. Johnson. (b) A dealer in horses. [ Obsolete] Wiseman. -- Horse crab (Zoology) , the Limulus; -- called also horsefoot , horsehoe crab , and king crab . -- Horse crevallé (Zoology) , the cavally. -- Horse emmet (Zoology) , the horse ant. -- Horse finch (Zoology) , the chaffinch. [ Prov. Eng.] -- Horse gentian (Botany) , fever root. -- Horse iron (Nautical) , a large calking iron. -- Horse latitudes , a space in the North Atlantic famous for calms and baffling winds, being between the westerly winds of higher latitudes and the trade winds. Ham. Nav. Encyc. -- Horse mackrel . (Zoology) (a) The common tunny ( Orcynus thunnus ), found on the Atlantic coast of Europe and America, and in the Mediterranean. (b) The bluefish ( Pomatomus saltatrix ). (c) The scad. (d) The name is locally applied to various other fishes, as the California hake, the black candlefish, the jurel, the bluefish, etc. -- Horse marine (Nautical) , an awkward, lubbery person; one of a mythical body of marine cavalry. [ Slang] -- Horse mussel (Zoology) , a large, marine mussel ( Modiola modiolus ), found on the northern shores of Europe and America. -- Horse nettle (Botany) , a coarse, prickly, American herb, the Solanum Carolinense . -- Horse parsley . (Botany) See Alexanders . -- Horse purslain (Botany) , a coarse fleshy weed of tropical America ( Trianthema monogymnum ). -- Horse race , a race by horses; a match of horses in running or trotting. -- Horse racing , the practice of racing with horses. -- Horse railroad , a railroad on which the cars are drawn by horses; -- in England, and sometimes in the United States, called a tramway . -- Horse run (Civil Engin.) , a device for drawing loaded wheelbarrows up an inclined plane by horse power. -- Horse sense , strong common sense. [ Colloq. U.S.] -- Horse soldier , a cavalryman. -- Horse sponge (Zoology) , a large, coarse, commercial sponge ( Spongia equina ). -- Horse stinger (Zoology) , a large dragon fly. [ Prov. Eng.] -- Horse sugar (Botany) , a shrub of the southern part of the United States ( Symplocos tinctoria ), whose leaves are sweet, and good for fodder. -- Horse tick (Zoology) , a winged, dipterous insect ( Hippobosca equina ), which troubles horses by biting them, and sucking their blood; -- called also horsefly , horse louse , and forest fly . -- Horse vetch (Botany) , a plant of the genus Hippocrepis ( H. comosa ), cultivated for the beauty of its flowers; -- called also horsehoe vetch , from the peculiar shape of its pods. -- Iron horse , a locomotive. [ Colloq.] -- Salt horse , the sailor's name for salt beef. -- To look a gift horse in the mouth , to examine the mouth of a horse which has been received as a gift, in order to ascertain his age; -- hence, to accept favors in a critical and thankless spirit. Lowell. -- To take horse . (a) To set out on horseback. Macaulay. (b) To be covered, as a mare. (c) See definition 7 (above).

Horse Horse transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Horsed ; present participle & verbal noun Horsing .] [ Anglo-Saxon horsion .] 1. To provide with a horse, or with horses; to mount on, or as on, a horse. "Being better horsed , outrode me." Shak. 2. To sit astride of; to bestride. Shak. 3. To cover, as a mare; -- said of the male. 4. To take or carry on the back; as, the keeper, horsing a deer. S. Butler. 5. To place on the back of another, or on a wooden horse, etc., to be flogged; to subject to such punishment.

Horse Horse intransitive verb To get on horseback. [ Obsolete] Shelton.

Horse Horse noun (Student Slang) (a) A translation or other illegitimate aid in study or examination; -- called also trot , pony , Dobbin . (b) Horseplay; tomfoolery.

Horse Guards Horse" Guards` (Mil.) A body of cavalry so called; esp., a British regiment, called the Royal Horse Guards, which furnishes guards of state for the sovereign. The Horse Guards , a name given to the former headquarters of the commander in chief of the British army, at Whitehall in London.

Horse power Horse" pow`er 1. The power which a horse exerts. 2. (Machinery) A unit of power, used in stating the power required to drive machinery, and in estimating the capabilities of animals or steam engines and other prime movers for doing work. It is the power required for the performance of work at the rate of 33,000 English units of work per minute; hence, it is the power that must be exerted in lifting 33,000 pounds at the rate of one foot per minute, or 550 pounds at the rate of one foot per second, or 55 pounds at the rate of ten feet per second, etc. » The power of a draught horse, of average strength, working eight hours per day, is about four fifths of a standard horse power . Brake horse power , the net effective power of a prime mover, as a steam engine, water wheel, etc., in horse powers, as shown by a friction brake. See Friction brake , under Friction . -- Indicated horse power , the power exerted in the cylinder of an engine, stated in horse powers, estimated from the diameter and speed of the piston, and the mean effective pressure upon it as shown by an indicator. See Indicator . -- Nominal horse power (Steam Engine) , a term still sometimes used in England to express certain proportions of cylinder, but having no value as a standard of measurement. 3. A machine worked by a horse, for driving other machinery; a horse motor.

Horse-chestnut Horse`-chest"nut noun (Botany) (a) The large nutlike seed of a species of Æsculus ( Æ. Hippocastanum ), formerly ground, and fed to horses, whence the name. (b) The tree itself, which was brought from Constantinople in the beginning of the sixteenth century, and is now common in the temperate zones of both hemispheres. The native American species are called buckeyes .

Horse-drench Horse"-drench` noun 1. A dose of physic for a horse. Shak. 2. The appliance by which the dose is administered.

Horse-jockey Horse"-jock`ey noun 1. A professional rider and trainer of race horses. 2. A trainer and dealer in horses.

Horse-leech Horse"-leech` noun 1. (Zoology) A large blood-sucking leech ( Hæmopsis vorax ), of Europe and Northern Africa. It attacks the lips and mouths of horses. 2. A farrier; a veterinary surgeon.

Horse-leechery Horse"-leech`er·y noun The business of a farrier; especially, the art of curing the diseases of horses.

Horse-litter Horse"-lit`ter noun A carriage hung on poles, and borne by and between two horses. Milton.

Horse-radish Horse"-rad`ish noun (Botany) A plant of the genus Nasturtium ( N. Armoracia ), allied to scurvy grass, having a root of a pungent taste, much used, when grated, as a condiment and in medicine. Gray. Horse-radish tree . (Botany) See Moringa .

Horseback Horse"back` noun 1. The back of a horse. 2. An extended ridge of sand, gravel, and bowlders, in a half-stratified condition. Agassiz. On horseback , on the back of a horse; mounted or riding on a horse or horses; in the saddle.

The long journey was to be performed on horseback .

Prescott.

Horsefish Horse"fish` noun (Zoology) (a) The moonfish ( Selene setipinnis ). (b) The sauger.

Horseflesh Horse"flesh` noun 1. The flesh of horses.

The Chinese eat horseflesh at this day.

Bacon. 2. Horses, generally; the qualities of a horse; as, he is a judge of horseflesh . [ Colloq.] Horseflesh ore (Min.) , a miner's name for bornite, in allusion to its peculiar reddish color on fresh facture.

Horsefly Horse"fly` noun ; plural Horseflies 1. (Zoology) Any dipterous fly of the family Tabanidæ , that stings horses, and sucks their blood. » Of these flies there are numerous species, both in Europe and America. They have a large proboscis with four sharp lancets for piercing the skin. Called also breeze fly . See Illust. under Diptera , and Breeze fly . 2. (Zoology) The horse tick or forest fly ( Hippobosca ).

Horsefoot Horse"foot` noun ; plural Horsefeet . 1. (Botany) The coltsfoot. 2. (Zoology) The Limulus or horseshoe crab.

Horsehair Horse"hair` noun A hair of a horse, especially one from the mane or tail; the hairs of the mane or tail taken collectively; a fabric or tuft made of such hairs. Horsehair worm (Zoology) , the hair worm or gordius.

Horsehead Horse"head` noun (Zoology) The silver moonfish ( Selene vomer ).

Horsehide Horse"hide` noun 1. The hide of a horse. 2. Leather made of the hide of a horse.

Horseknop Horse"knop` noun (Botany) Knapweed.

Horselaugh Horse"laugh` noun A loud, boisterous laugh; a guffaw. Pope.

Horseless Horse"less adjective Being without a horse; specif., not requiring a horse; -- said of certain vehicles in which horse power has been replaced by electricity, steam, etc.; as, a horseless carriage or truck.

Horseman Horse"man noun ; plural Horsemen 1. A rider on horseback; one skilled in the management of horses; a mounted man. 2. (Mil.) A mounted soldier; a cavalryman. 3. (Zoology) (a) A land crab of the genus Ocypoda , living on the coast of Brazil and the West Indies, noted for running very swiftly. (b) A West Indian fish of the genus Eques , as the light-horseman ( E. lanceolatus ).

Horsemanship Horse"man·ship noun The act or art of riding, and of training and managing horses; manege.

Horsemint Horse"mint` noun (Botany) (a) A coarse American plant of the Mint family ( Monarda punctata ). (b) In England, the wild mint ( Mentha sylvestris ).

Horsenail Horse"nail` noun A thin, pointed nail, with a heavy flaring head, for securing a horsehoe to the hoof; a horsehoe nail.

Horseplay Horse"play` noun Rude, boisterous play.

Too much given to horseplay in his raillery.

Dryden.

Horsepond Horse"pond` noun A pond for watering horses.

Horserake Horse"rake` noun A rake drawn by a horse.

Horseshoe Horse"shoe` noun 1. A shoe for horses, consisting of a narrow plate of iron in form somewhat like the letter U , nailed to a horse's hoof. 2. Anything shaped like a horsehoe. 3. (Zoology) The Limulus or horsehoe crab. Horsehoe head (Medicine) , an old name for the condition of the skull in children, in which the sutures are too open, the coronal suture presenting the form of a horsehoe. Dunglison. -- Horsehoe magnet , an artificial magnet in the form of a horsehoe. -- Horsehoe nail . See Horsenail . -- Horsehoe nose (Zoology) , a bat of the genus Rhinolophus , having a nasal fold of skin shaped like a horsehoe.

Horseshoeing Horse"shoe`ing noun The act or employment of shoeing horses.

Horseshoer Horse"sho`er noun One who shoes horses.

Horsetail Horse"tail` noun 1. (Botany) A leafless plant, with hollow and rushlike stems. It is of the genus Equisetum , and is allied to the ferns. See Illust. of Equisetum . 2. A Turkish standard, denoting rank. » Commanders are distinguished by the number of horsetails carried before them. Thus, the sultan has seven, the grand vizier five, and the pashas three, two, or one. Shrubby horsetail . (Botany) See Joint-fir .

Horseweed Horse"weed` noun (Botany) A composite plant ( Erigeron Canadensis ), which is a common weed.

Horsewhip Horse"whip` noun A whip for horses.

Horsewhip Horse"whip` transitive verb To flog or chastise with a horsewhip.