foal

American  

[fohl] / foʊl /

noun

1. a young horse, mule, or related animal, especially one that is not yet one year of age.

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verb (used with or without object)

foals, present (3rd person singular) foaled, past participle, past foaling present participle

1. to give birth to (a colt or filly).

foal British  

/ fəʊl /

noun

1. the young of a horse or related animal

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verb

1. to give birth to (a foal)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unfoaled
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have foaled
  perfect
• has foaled
  perfect 3rd person singular
• has been foaling
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• is foaling
  progressive 3rd person singular
• have been foaling
  perfect progressive
• am foaling
  progressive 1st person singular
• are foaling
  progressive
• foaling
  participle
• foals
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had foaled
  perfect
• were foaling
  progressive plural
• had been foaling
  perfect progressive
• was foaling
  progressive singular
• foaled
  simple
• foaled
  participle

Future

• will foal
  simple
• will have foaled
  perfect
• will have been foaling
  perfect progressive
• will be foaling
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of foal

before 950; (noun) Middle English fole, Old English fola; cognate with Old High German folo ( German Fohlen ); akin to Latin pullus young animal, Greek pôlos foal; (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun

Explanation

A foal is a baby horse. Most horses give birth to only one foal at a time, though occasionally they have two. You can use the word foal for a horse that's younger than one year old — after turning one, a foal becomes a yearling. Foals can be either male, also called a colt, or female, also called a filly. When a mare, or adult female horse, has a baby, you can say she foals. The Old English root word, fola, means "foal" or "colt."

Related Words

• colt
• horse