Colt

How to spell colt

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce colt

What does colt mean?

1. nounA young male horse, usually under four years of age.

Colt in a sentence

• The colt trotted nervously beside its mother in the paddock.

• The breeder sold the bay colt at auction for a record price.

Where does colt come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Colt is a native English word, descending directly from the Old English colt, which referred to a young donkey or a young camel before it settled on its modern meaning of a young horse. The word belongs to the Germanic layer of English and is thought to be related to words for a young animal or for something swelling and growing, which fits the idea of a newly grown, frisky creature. By the Middle Ages the sense had narrowed to a young male horse, typically one under four years of age. The same playful, untrained image gave rise to the verb 'to colt' and the adjective 'coltish', still used to describe gangly, energetic youthfulness. Because it is a short, old word with a straightforward spelling, the trap is minor: it is simply remembering the single 'l' and the final 't' rather than confusing it with longer relatives.

How the word is built

• colt (single Old English root: young horse or ass); no prefix or suffix