horse family

[ hawrs fam-uh-lee, fam-lee ]

noun

1. the animal family Equidae, once comprised of more than 40 genera and now represented by one surviving genus, Equus : noted as capable runners with muscular bodies and long legs, Equus members include horses, donkeys, zebras, and all their subspecies and hybrids.

Word History and Origins

Origin of horse family¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Equid, the horse family, a division of the odd-toed (perissodactyle) Ungulates or hoofed mammals.

From Project Gutenberg

By the end of the Eocene a three-toed genus of the horse family had appeared, as large as a sheep.

From Project Gutenberg

In all respects the members of the horse family have become more and more horse-like in the course of time.

From Project Gutenberg

In the horse family every step of this reduction and consolidation may be traced in the course of its geological history.

From Project Gutenberg

The history of the horse family furnishes an excellent illustration of certain evolutionary changes among mammals.

From Project Gutenberg