The Horse and Its Relatives (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 edition. Excerpt: ... THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES CHAPTER I THE ZOOLOGICAL POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE The difficulty which occurs in the case of the ox1 as to what is the proper English designation of that animal does not arise in the present instance, for although we not infrequently speak of a horse, as distinct from a mare, there seems little doubt that the former term is really a species-name, and therefore applicable to both sexes of Equus caballus, as the domesticated horse of Europe was called by Linnaeus. As to the origin of the name horse--the equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon hors, the Frisian hars or hors, the German ross, the Italian rozza, the Old Saxon and Old German hros, and probably the Persian ghor and the Hindustani ghora--there has been some difference of opinion. It has been stated, for instance, to take origin from the Sanskrit 1 See The Ox and its Kindred, by R. Lydekker, London, 1912. A hresh, signifying to neigh, so that the horse means the neighing animal.1 This derivation is, however, not admitted in the Century Dictionary, where the name is stated to be the equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon hors, which signifies swiftness, and is connected with the Latin currere, to run; the English term horse thus meaning the running animal. The Sanskrit name of the species is acva, which appears to be the equivalent of the Hebrew sus, the Greek hippos (with its diminutives hipparion and hippidion), and the Latin equus. Another series of names for the horse is represented by the Greek kaballos, the Latin caballus, the Spanish caballo, the Italian cavallo, and the French cheval. In addition to these, we have the German pferd and the Dutch paard. There is also the English name pony, for a small horse, which may possibly be connected with the...