Houyhnhnm

American

[hoo-in-uhm, hwin-uhm, win-] / huˈɪn əm, ˈʰwɪn əm, ˈwɪn- /

noun

(in Swift'sGulliver's Travels ) one of a race of horses endowed with reason, who rule the Yahoos, a race of degraded, brutish creatures having human form.

Etymology

Origin of Houyhnhnm

1726; apparently echoic; whinny

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.

Houyhnhnm, whin′im, n. one of the noble rational horse race in Gulliver's Travels.

From Project Gutenberg

The Houyhnhnm in the cellar protested that he was, too.

From Project Gutenberg

There are more than four hundred horses in His Highness's city stables alone; and where the Houyhnhnm is, there also will be the Yahoo.

From Project Gutenberg

So I found myself the involuntary possessor of a Houyhnhnm, or something even worse, and I walked back to my rooms in Park Street in a state of stupor.

From Project Gutenberg

The pony travelled like a glorified Houyhnhnm and we have brought a second male servant to take care of him.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023