noun
mustang
MUS-tang/ˈmʌstæŋ/
A small free-roaming horse of the American West.
The mustang stands untacked on the open prairie with its mane blowing.
Etymology
Mestengo referred to stray or ownerless animals associated with ranchers who divided unclaimed livestock mixed into their herds. The horse's name reflects its feral condition, though mustangs descend from domesticated Spanish horses.
In context
urged his Mustang on with spurs and whip
More examples
- A herd of mustangs crossed the ridge.
- The young mustang kept close to its mother.
- We watched the mustangs from a distant trail.
Forms
mustang · mustangs
Similar words
- horse
- The broader animal term without free-roaming Western ancestry.
- feral horse
- Feral horse identifies wild-living domestic ancestry without the specific North American history.