steed

See also: Steed

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English stede (“steed”), from Old English stēda (“stallion, stud”), from Proto-West Germanic *stōdijō; (compare Old Dutch stoti (“herd of horses”), Old High German stuot (“herd of horses”)).

Pronunciation

• enPR: stēd, IPA^(key): /stiːd/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːd

Noun

steed (plural steeds)

1. (archaic, poetic) A stallion, especially in the sense of mount.
   • 1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC:

     The studded bridle on a ragged bough
     Nimbly she fastens: -- O, how quick is love! --
     The steed is stalled up, and even now
     To tie the rider she begins to prove:
     Backward she push'd him, as she would be thrust,
     And govern'd him in strength, though not in lust.

   • 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 7:

     The torch-eyed ſavage, with growl tremendous, riſing up, diſlocated at one blow the arched neck of Sadit's Arabian ſteed, and brought the unfortunate omrah to the duſt, expiring between his extended claws.

2. (cycling, slang, humorous) A bicycle.

   silent steed

   • 1887 July 26, Thomas Stevens, “Bicycle chat for boys”, in Harper's Young People, volume VIII, number 404, page 614:

     In the green lanes of Merrie England the bicycle rider in his natty uniform, speeding along on his silent steed, is met with almost as often as vehicles drawn by horses, and it is safe to say that in the various countries of the world not less than half a million bicycles and tricycles are now in use.

Derived terms

• barbel steed
• Saxon steed

Translations

stallion

• Armenian: նժույգ (hy) (nžuyg)
• Bulgarian: жребец (bg) m (žrebec)
• Czech: oř (cs) m
• Finnish: ratsu (fi)
• French: coursier (fr)
• German: Ross (de) n, Reithengst m, Springer (de) m (archaic, obsolete)
• Hebrew: רַמָּךְ (he) (ramách)
• Hungarian: paripa (hu)
• Ingrian: ratsas, ratsu
• Italian: destriero (it) m
• Latin: sonipes m
• Lithuanian: žirgas (lt) m
• Middle English: stede
• Old English: wicg n
• Polish: rumak (pl) m, Pegaz (pl) m
• Portuguese: corcel (pt) m
• Russian: конь (ru) m (konʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: parip (sh) m
• Spanish: corcel (es) m
• Swedish: hingst (sv) c, springare (sv) c
• Turkish: küheylan (tr), aygır (tr)

See also

• horse

Anagrams

• Teeds, deest, deets, tedes

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

steed

1. Alternative form of stede (“place”)

Etymology 2

Noun

steed

1. Alternative form of stede (“steed”)

North Frisian

Alternative forms

• stää (Mooring)
• Stat, Stair (Sylt)

Etymology

From Old Frisian stede, from Proto-Germanic *stadiz. Cognates include West Frisian stêd.

Noun

steed f (plural steeden) (Föhr-Amrum)

1. city, town
2. place, spot, stead

Usage notes

• One of the original feminines that still commonly take the reduced article a, chiefly in the sense of “town”. See at for further information.

Derived terms

• steeds
• steedsmaan m, steedswüf f
• uunsteed