palfrey

American  

[pawl-free] / ˈpɔl fri /

noun

palfreys plural

1. a riding horse, as distinguished from a war horse.

2. a saddle horse particularly suitable for a woman.

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palfrey British  

/ ˈpɔːlfrɪ /

noun

1. archaic a light saddle horse, esp ridden by women

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• palfreyed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• palfreys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of palfrey

1200–50; Middle English palefrei < Old French < Late Latin paraverēdus post horse for byways, probably literally, spare horse, equivalent to Greek para- para- ¹ + Latin verēdus fast breed of horse < Gaulish < Celtic *woreidos (> Welsh gorwydd horse, charger), equivalent to *wo- under (< *upo-; cf. hypo-) + *reid-, base of Old Irish réidid (he) rides, réid level, smooth, easy, Welsh rhwydd easy; see ride

Example Sentences

The huntsman, drawn in a simple wagon by a white palfrey, has concealed himself and the wagon behind leaves and branches.

From Time Magazine Archive

Jon waited until the last echoes had faded, then spurred his palfrey forward where everyone could see him.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Leading his horse and the horse limping, head down, head down, as fine a horse as I’ve ever seen — a fair gray palfrey, a wondrous horse — but I was gazing at the boy.

From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz

But Galadriel sat upon a white palfrey and was robed all in glimmering white, like clouds about the Moon; for she herself seemed to shine with a soft light.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

In the forest of the apple tree, indeed at the very foot of the tree itself, he came across a lady riding a white palfrey.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White