Houyhnhnm

English

Etymology

Coined by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels as a humorous, onomatopoeic play on the sound made by horses.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /huˈɪn.əm/, /ˈhwɪn.əm/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

Houyhnhnm (plural Houyhnhnms)

1. (fiction) One of a fictional race of exceptionally civilized creatures, who look exactly like horses, inhabiting the same land as the brutish Yahoos.
   • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author’s Veracity. His Design in Publishing this Work. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), pages 340–341:

     I retain in my Mind the Lectures and Example of my noble Maſter and the other illuſtrious Houyhnhnms of whom I had ſo long the Honour to be an humble Hearer.

   • 1878, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 7, in Under the Lilacs:

     "The Squire says you know a good deal about horses, so I suppose you understand the Houyhnhnm language? I'm learning it, and it is very nice," laughed Miss Celia, as Chevalita gave a little whinny and snuffled her nose into Ben's pocket.

   • 1995 February 19, Marilyn Stasio, “What to Read: Crime”, in New York Times‎^[1], retrieved March 3, 2021:

     ”The moment he called me his ‘gentle and reasonable Houyhnhnm,’” an archivist notes, “I should have known that the man was deranged.”

   • 2014 January 28, Will Self, “John Gray: Forget everything you know”, in Independent‎^[2], retrieved March 3, 2021:

     Certainly the philosopher was not a pessimistic luncheon companion. He […] loped off in the direction of the London Library, leaving me with an impression of twinkling eyes, laughter lines (he whinnies like a donnish Houyhnhnm), and a sensibility genuinely focused on what will happen in the next five minutes - or five years - albeit one steeped in knowledge of the past.

Usage notes

• For convenience in spelling and reading, sometimes rendered as "Whinnim" or "Whinnem".

Further reading

• “Houyhnhnm”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “Houyhnhnm”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.