palfrey
Use Palfrey in a sentence
fri noun, plural pal·freys.
1.
a riding horse, as distinguished from a war horse.
2.
a saddle horse particularly suitable for a woman.
Origin:
1200–50; Middle English palefrei < Old French < Late Latin paraverēdus post horse for byways, probably literally, spare horse, equivalent to Greek para- para-1 + Latin verēdus fast breed of horse < Gaulish < Celtic *woreidos (> Welsh gorwydd horse, charger), equivalent to *wo- under (< *upo-; cf. hypo-) + *reid-, base of Old Irish réidid (he) rides, réid level, smooth, easy, Welsh rhwydd easy; see ride
1200–50; Middle English palefrei < Old French < Late Latin paraverēdus post horse for byways, probably literally, spare horse, equivalent to Greek para- para-1 + Latin verēdus fast breed of horse < Gaulish < Celtic *woreidos (> Welsh gorwydd horse, charger), equivalent to *wo- under (< *upo-; cf. hypo-) + *reid-, base of Old Irish réidid (he) rides, réid level, smooth, easy, Welsh rhwydd easy; see ride
Related forms
pal·freyed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To palfrey
00:10
Palfrey
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
palfrey (ˈpɔːlfrɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| archaic a light saddle horse, esp ridden by women | |
| [C12: from Old French palefrei, from Medieval Latin palafredus, from Late Latin paraverēdus, from Greek para beside + Latin verēdus light fleet horse, of Celtic origin] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
palfrey
1148, "saddle horse for ordinary riding (opposed to a war horse), small horse for ladies," from O.Fr. palefrei (11c.), from M.L. palafredus, alt. by dissimilation from L.L. paraveredus "post horse for outlying districts" (6c.), originally "extra horse," from Gk. para "beside, secondary" + L. veredus
"post horse; light, fast horse used by couriers," from Gaul. *voredos (cf. Welsh gorwydd "horse," O.Ir. riadaim "I ride"). The L. word passed to O.H.G. as pfarifrid, where in modern Ger. it has become the usual word for "horse" (pferd).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Therewith the king and all espied where came riding down the river a lady on a white palfrey toward them.
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