cayuse

[kahy-yoos, kahy-oos]

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noun

Western U.S. a horse, especially an Indian pony.

Also called cayuse wind. Northwestern U.S. a cold wind blowing from the east.

Origin of cayuse

1830–40, Americanism; named after the Cayuse

Cayuse

[kahy-yoos, kahy-oos]

noun, plural Cay·us·es, (especially collectively) Cay·use.

a member of a tribe of North American Indians now living in Oregon.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cayuse

nag, crib, glass, trot, racehorse, mustang, pinto

Examples from the Web for cayuse

Historical Examples of cayuse

Lucky the cayuse who happens to be the right size for his harness.
A Woman Tenderfoot
Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
You wish to know the name of the man who Union-Jacked your cayuse?
The Spoilers of the Valley
Robert Watson
Powder Face is woman broke, an' gentle as any cayuse can get.
Prairie Flowers
James B. Hendryx
Not much on looks, Bill, but a cayuse don't cover ground on his looks.
Riders of the Silences
John Frederick
My horse, I knew, could outrace any cayuse of the Sioux band.
Lords of the North
A. C. Laut

British Dictionary definitions for cayuse

cayuse

noun

Western US and Canadian a small Native American pony used by cowboys

Word Origin for cayuse

C19: from a Chinookan language

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cayuse

"horse, Indian pony," 1841, American English, said to be a Chinook (native Pacific Northwest) word; also the name of an Indian group and language (1825), of unknown origin.