palomino

American  

[pal-uh-mee-noh] / ˌpæl əˈmi noʊ /

noun

plural

palominos

1. a horse with a golden coat, a white mane and tail, and often white markings on the face and legs, developed chiefly in the southwestern U.S.

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palomino British  

/ ˌpæləˈmiːnəʊ /

noun

1. a golden horse with a cream or white mane and tail

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Etymology

Origin of palomino

First recorded in 1910–15, from Latin American Spanish (Panama), special use of Spanish palomino “of, resembling a dove,” from Latin palumbīnus, equivalent to palumb(ēs) “dove” + -īnus -ine ¹

Explanation

A palomino is a particularly popular kind of horse, with a coat color that ranges from almost white to golden yellow. If you've dreamed since you were little of riding a palomino along a deserted beach, it means that you picture yourself on a pale golden horse. Palominos turn up in movies, parades, and shows because they're unusual and considered to be particularly beautiful. Mr. Ed, possibly the most famous television horse, was a palomino. The word palomino is Spanish, and it means (oddly enough) "young dove."

Example Sentences

Eliff, a former vice president of a lumberyard, tapped on a model palomino and pointed at Stetson.

From Washington Post • Jul. 28, 2022

When Ivie got back to the ranch, he told Jigger — a palomino horse — what had happened.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2019

When the still palomino wine is ready to embark on its voyage toward sherryhood, it is put into barrels.

From New York Times • Dec. 29, 2017

He saddles his beautiful palomino, and we expect an open prairie, but he winds up in a bright new kitchen, agleam with mod cons, where Gena Rowlands makes him ham and eggs.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 9, 2016

And then Rachel, our family’s own Queen of Sheba, blinking her white eyelashes, flicking her long whitish hair as if she were the palomino horse she once craved to own.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver