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Glite Dictionary
to hopple

to hopple

9.9
To strap a front leg and a back leg on the same side of a horse so they move together
  • verb
  • /ˈhɑːpəl/
  • Jargon
translation icon : atar
  • To prevent the horse from running away, the trainer decided to hopple its foreleg and hind leg on the same side.

Examples

  • After the race, the jockey had to hopple the horse to ensure it could not sprint away.

  • Before starting the training session, the stable hand hoppled the horse to keep it calm.

  • So at fifteen I hoppled out of his life.

    The Penalty (1920)

Synonyms

to hobble
vsto hopple
  • Specialized
3 8.4

To tie together a horse's front and back legs to stop it running

focuses on keeping legs moving in unison rather than mainly restricting movement

Phrasal Verbs

to hopple down
9.9

Move down slowly and awkwardly because you are hurt

Surface Forms

hopple infinitive
hoppled past
hoppled past participle
hoppling present participle
hopples third person singular

Etymology

Hopple is like the common word hobble ('to walk with difficulty') and also sounds like hop ('jump'), which gives an image of changed movement. It means to 'tie' a horse's front and back legs on the same side so the legs move together, so to hopple a horse is to control its movement.