pony

[poh-nee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pony ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural po·nies.

a small horse of any of several breeds, usually not higher at the shoulder than 14½ hands (58 in./146 cm).

a horse of any small type or breed.

Slang. a literal translation or other text, used illicitly as an aid in schoolwork or while taking a test; crib.

something small of its kind.

a small glass for liquor.

the amount of liquor it will hold, usually one ounce (29.6 ml).

a small beverage bottle, often holding seven ounces (196 grams): We bought a dozen ponies of Mexican beer.

Older Slang. a diminutive chorus girl.

pony pack.

British Slang. the sum of 25 pounds.

verb (used with object), po·nied, po·ny·ing.

Slang. to prepare (lessons) by means of a pony.

Racing Slang.

to be the outrider for (a racehorse).
to exercise (a racehorse) by having a rider mounted on another horse lead it at a gallop around a track.

verb (used without object), po·nied, po·ny·ing.

to prepare a lesson or lessons with the aid of a pony.

Idioms

pony up, Informal. to pay (money), as in settling an account: Next week you'll have to pony up the balance of the loan.

Origin of pony

1650–60; earlier powney < obsolete French poulenet, diminutive of poulain colt < Medieval Latin pullānus (Latin pull(us) foal + -ānus -an); see -et

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

Related Words for pony

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

Examples from the Web for pony

Contemporary Examples of pony

Almost immediately after mounting my trusty steed, I was ready to end my pony ride.
I Tried Cosmo’s Lesbian Sex Tips and They Were Terrible
Samantha Allen
July 30, 2014
Revel in Wild West lore at the Pony Express National Museum and Jesse James Home Museum in St Joseph, just outside KC.
The U.S. Road Trips You Should Really Take
Lonely Planet
April 26, 2014
Think about it: Exactly who is going to pony up the money to study the downsides of eating eggplants?
Pizza Might Be Your Enemy
Daniela Drake
March 9, 2014
The Pony Express stopped galloping in the mid-1800s, and the train system was booming.
The Strange Arrows That Point the Way Across America
Nina Strochlic
December 19, 2013
Which means, in turn, that Germany is going to have to pony up a lot more money.
Homage to Catalonia
Megan McArdle
December 19, 2012

Historical Examples of pony

I thought it was proved that you helped to put the pony in the principal's room.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
But the pony had been in such a situation before, if I had not, and she taught me what to do.
A Woman Tenderfoot
Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
I wish I could have my pony; why can't I have my pony, mamma?
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Nelson, having bought his pony, came home with it in high spirits.
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
Robert Southey
I don't think we shall come to the pony at all, this season.
The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for pony

pony

noun plural ponies

any of various breeds of small horse, usually under 14.2 hands

a small drinking glass, esp for liqueurs
the amount held by such a glass

anything small of its kind

British slang a sum of £25, esp in bookmaking

Also called: trot US slang a literal translation used by students, often illicitly, in preparation for foreign language lessons or examinations; crib

Word Origin for pony

C17: from Scottish powney, perhaps from obsolete French poulenet a little colt, from poulain colt, from Latin pullus young animal, foal

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 pony

1650s, powny, from Scottish, apparently from obsolete French poulenet "little foal" (mid-15c.), diminutive of Old French poulain "foal," from Late Latin pullanus "young of an animal," from Latin pullus "young of a horse, fowl, etc." (see foal (n.)) [Skeat's suggestion, still accepted].

German, sensibly, indicates this animal by attaching a diminutive suffix to its word for "horse," which might yield Modern English *horslet. Modern French poney is a 19c. borrowing from English. Meaning "crib of a text as a cheating aid" (1827) and "small liquor glass" (1849) both are from notion of "smallness" (the former also "something one rides"). As the name of a popular dance, it dates from 1963. The U.S. Pony Express began 1860 (and operated about 18 months before being superseded by the transcontinental telegraph). The figurative one-trick pony is 1897, American English, in reference to circus acts.

1824, in pony up "to pay," of uncertain origin. OED says from pony (n.), but not exactly how. In other sources said to be from slang use of Latin legem pone to mean "money" (first recorded 16c.), because this was the title of the Psalm for March 25, a Quarter Day and the first payday of the year (the Psalm's first line is Legem pone michi domine viam iustificacionum "Teach me, O Lord, the ways of thy statutes").

Idioms and Phrases with pony

pony

In addition to the idioms beginning with pony

pony up

also see:

dog-and-pony show