English Explanatory Dictionary

palfrey

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A small horse with a smooth, ambling gait, popular in the Middle Ages with nobles and women for riding (contrasted with a warhorse).
name
  1. A surname from Middle English.
  2. A suburb of Walsall, Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England (OS grid ref SP0097).

Pronunciation

/ˈpɔːl.fɹi/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-palfrey.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-palfrey.wav

Word forms

palfrey palfreys Pelfrey Pelphrey

Etymology

From Middle English palfrey, from Anglo-Norman palefrei (“steed”), from Old French palefroi, palefreid, from Late Latin paraverēdus (“post horse, spare horse”), from Ancient Greek παρά (pará) + Latin verēdus (“post horse”), from Gaulish *werēdos (“horse”) (compare Welsh gorwydd (“horse”)), from Proto-Celtic *uɸoreidos (“horse”). Doublet of prad. Compare Dutch paard and German Pferd.

Derived words

palfreyed palfreyman
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