farrier
Americannoun
noun
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a person who shoes horses
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archaic another name for veterinary surgeon
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military a noncommissioned officer who looks after horses
Etymology
Origin of farrier
1375–1425; variant of ferrier < Middle French, Old French < Latin ferrārius “smith” (equivalent to ferr(um) “iron” + -ārius -ary ); replacing late Middle English fer(r)our < Anglo-French, Old French ferreor < Latin ferrātor (unattested)
Explanation
A farrier is a person whose job involves taking care of horses' hooves and shoeing them if they need protection. Being a farrier was far more common hundreds of years ago, when horses were a major form of transportation. If you love working with horses, you might consider being a farrier. The job involves a lot of knowledge of and care for the animals' feet, with additional skills in working with metal, bending and shaping it to fit a horse's hoof. In fact, the term farrier demonstrates how closely related the profession is to blacksmithing, or making things from metal: farrier comes from the Latin root ferrum, or "iron."
Vocabulary lists containing farrier
Horsin' Around
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Black Beauty
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The War That Saved My Life
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Discuss shoeing and hoof care options with a farrier.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Mr. Foreman taught on a Zuni reservation in New Mexico and worked as a farrier, or horseshoer, before joining the Wilderness Society as its Southwest regional representative.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
By the mid-1960s, he was working as a farrier shoeing horses for TV westerns, and he eventually was recruited for stunts.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2020
Ring gets his horseshoes from a farrier friend of his, who gives him old horseshoes in exchange for help with occasional welding projects.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2017
It had been so long since a farrier had trimmed War Chief’s hooves that he hobbled painfully around the yard like a crippled ballerina.
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
