workhorsen.
/ˈwəːkhɔːs/, U.S. /ˈwərkˌhɔrs/ 1. A horse used for draught, ploughing, farm work, etc., rather than for riding or racing.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > [noun]
tacklea1325
enginea1393
geara1400
workhorse1463
graith1513
trinketc1525
implementsa1552
furniture1577
store1605
tew1616
thing1662
stock-in-trade1775
tack1777
apparatus1796
work thing1812
gearinga1854
matériel1856
plant1867
hardware1947
workhorse1949
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [noun] > labour or toil > one who
workhorse1463
toiler1549
fagger1830
strapper1851
workhorse1908
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by purpose used for > [noun] > work horse
workhorse1463
cuta1529
farm horse1732
night horse1840
1463 J. Cok Compotus in Monmouthshire Antiquary (1995) 11 89 Also paied to Richard Amburley for shoyng of my lordys werkehorse.
1543 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories Archdeaconry Richmond (1853) 41 Inventarye..in ye stable..Item iiijor warke horses.
1587 in J. P. Earwaker Lancs. & Cheshire Wills (1893) 144 One worke horse or maire.
1625 A. Darcie tr. W. Camden Hist. Elizabeth ii. 398 As he trauelled,..his Horses fayling, tooke vp the work-horses that he found in his way.
1688 Tryal Philip Standsfield 23 If it had not been that Sir James was well horsed, and his Son Philip upon a work-horse, he had killed him.
1724 Treat. conc. Manner Fallowing of Ground iii. 52 He feeds all his Work Horses with good Hay.
1763 A. Blane Let. 25 Sept. in H. Bouquet Papers (1942) Ser. 21649 2nd Pt. 62 I'll make another tryal to get some Hay for the work Horses.
1812 J. Sinclair Acct. Syst. Husbandry Scotl. i. 17 A pair of work-horses may be accommodated in a space of sixteen feet by eight.
1883 Times 21 Feb. 8/4 Pink-eye is excessively prevalent among all classes of horses, particularly work horses in Sheffield.
1917 Rep. Supreme Court S. Dakota 37 608 The property was two work horses and two yearing colts.
1972 T. A. Bulman Kamloops Cattlemen iii. 19 They were all top hands with either saddle or work horses.
2002 Amer. Cowboy July 74/1 Fritz McTarnahan owned a brown, bald-faced horse named Whistling Dixie who looked like a workhorse.
2. figurative. A person, machine, etc., that undertakes or carries out (hard) work reliably, esp. over a long period of time.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [noun] > labour or toil > one who
workhorse1463
toiler1549
fagger1830
strapper1851
workhorse1908
society > occupation and work > equipment > [noun]
tacklea1325
enginea1393
geara1400
workhorse1463
graith1513
trinketc1525
implementsa1552
furniture1577
store1605
tew1616
thing1662
stock-in-trade1775
tack1777
apparatus1796
work thing1812
gearinga1854
matériel1856
plant1867
hardware1947
workhorse1949
1908 Detroit Free Press 19 Apr. i. 9/1 Taft is the real workhorse of the administration.
1949 Sun (Baltimore) 3 Oct. 2/6 This caliber howitzer has gained the reputation of being the ‘work horse’ of the Army.
1966 Electronics 3 Oct. 54 The satellites will be launched on improved versions of the workhorse Delta vehicle.
1985 A. Blond Book Bk. iii. 42 An admirable workhorse of a publisher.
2012 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 10 May 14/2 Egypt was the province where the little big man throve. Ever since Roman times, it had been the workhorse of the empire.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1463