POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 3 



from the Anglo-Saxon 77iyre or mere, a word which 

 appears to have been originally connected with 

 increase, but in a later sense indicated the female 

 of the strong animal. As regards the young, the 

 name foal — equivalent to the Anglo-Saxon fole, 

 the Latin pullus, and the Greek polos, all denoting 

 originally a young animal — is applicable to both 

 sexes. The word filly, on the other hand, which 

 likewise apparently comes from the Anglo-Saxon 

 fole, denotes a female foal ; whereas colt — an 

 Anglo-Saxon derivative probably connected with 

 cild, a child — is applied solely to a foal of the 

 male sex. Finally, the term gelding signifies the 

 castrated male. 



In this place it may be convenient to mention 

 that although the name horse properly belongs only 

 to the domesticated and wild representatives of 

 EquMS caballus, it is frequently employed by natu- 

 ralists in a more extensive sense. We speak, for 

 instance, of the Arabian horse ; and even if that 

 be, as some suppose, specifically distinct from the 

 ordinary horse of Western Europe, there is no 

 question that such usage is perfectly legitimate and 

 permissible. On the other hand, all the other ex- 

 isting members of the horse tribe, or EqtiidcB, have 

 distinctive names of their own, such as ass, zebra, 

 and quagga. Nevertheless, all these are often 

 called horses in works on natural history, although 

 the practice has its inconveniences ; and the term 



