*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ahorse

Etymology tree English a- Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós? Proto-Indo-European *h₁wers-? Proto-Indo-European *wers- Proto-Indo-European *-ḗn Proto-Indo-European *wérsēn Pro

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adv

On the back of a horse; on horseback.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree English a- Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós? Proto-Indo-European *h₁wers-? Proto-Indo-European *wers- Proto-Indo-European *-ḗn Proto-Indo-European *wérsēn Proto-Indo-Iranian *(w)ŕ̥šā Proto-Iranian *(w)ŕ̥šāder.? Proto-Germanic *hrussą Proto-West Germanic *hross Old English hors Middle English hors English horse English ahorse From a- + horse.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "a-<id:on>",
        "4": "horse",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nEnglish a-\nProto-Indo-European *ḱers-\nProto-Indo-European *-ós\nProto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁wers-?\nProto-Indo-European *wers-\nProto-Indo-European *-ḗn\nProto-Indo-European *wérsēn\nProto-Indo-Iranian *(w)ŕ̥šā\nProto-Iranian *(w)ŕ̥šāder.?\nProto-Germanic *hrussą\nProto-West Germanic *hross\nOld English hors\nMiddle English hors\nEnglish horse\nEnglish ahorse\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" }, { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"virile man\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"virile man\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"virile man\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"rain\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁wers-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"rise\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*wers-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"nominal suffix\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-ḗn\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*wérsēn\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-Iranian\", \"term\" : \"*(w)ŕ̥šā\", \"lang\" : \"iir-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Iranian\", \"term\" : \"*(w)ŕ̥šā\", \"lang\" : \"ira-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*hrussą\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*hross\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"hors\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"hors\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"horse\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"ahorse\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"ahorse\">\nFrom a- + horse."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "a-<id:on>",
        "4": "horse",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂en-der.\nProto-Germanic *an\nProto-West Germanic *ana\nOld English on\nMiddle English an\nMiddle English a-\nEnglish a-\nProto-Indo-European *ḱers-\nProto-Indo-European *-ós\nProto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁wers-?\nProto-Indo-European *wers-\nProto-Indo-European *-ḗn\nProto-Indo-European *wérsēn\nProto-Indo-Iranian *(w)ŕ̥šā\nProto-Iranian *(w)ŕ̥šāder.?\nProto-Germanic *hrussą\nProto-West Germanic *hross\nOld English hors\nMiddle English hors\nEnglish horse\nEnglish ahorse\nFrom a- + horse."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "a-",
      "a-#English:_on"
    ],
    [
      "*ḱers-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱers-#Proto-Indo-European:_run"
    ],
    [
      "*-ós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-ós#Proto-Indo-European:_vrddhi"
    ],
    [
      "*ḱr̥sós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱr̥sós#Proto-Indo-European:_vehicle"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁wers-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁wers-#Proto-Indo-European:_rain"
    ],
    [
      "*wers-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wers-#Proto-Indo-European:_rise"
    ],
    [
      "*-ḗn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-ḗn#Proto-Indo-European:_nominal_suffix"
    ],
    [
      "*wérsēn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wérsēn#Proto-Indo-European:_virile_man"
    ],
    [
      "*(w)ŕ̥šā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/(w)ŕ̥šā#Proto-Indo-Iranian:_virile_man"
    ],
    [
      "*(w)ŕ̥šā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Iranian/(w)ŕ̥šā#Proto-Iranian:_virile_man"
    ],
    [
      "*hrussą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hrussą#Proto-Germanic:_horse"
    ],
    [
      "*hross",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hross#Proto-West_Germanic:_horse"
    ],
    [
      "hors",
      "hors#Old_English:_horse"
    ],
    [
      "hors",
      "hors#Middle_English:_horse"
    ],
    [
      "horse",
      "horse#English"
    ],
    [
      "a-",
      "a-#English:_on"
    ],
    [
      "horse",
      "horse#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "On the back of a horse; on horseback."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "7a498dcaa9b171017160c677fded05c70039bd093cfd5cab515b09777ec1b548",
      "rawRecordSha256": "0700601a8f6cc79aab3fc64d20f948dba7246c4abac669f3b4573abd2bdf94c9",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1165628
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for ahorse →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YWhvcnNl