🤺 To knock off 🐎 To get off

to unhorse

9.5

To knock someone off a horse during a fight or contest

verb
/ʌnˈhɔrs/

: desmontar

Don Quijote, oblivious, charges and unhorses the hapless Sancho.

Examples

During the joust, he managed to unhorse his opponent with a skilled strike.
The knight's goal was to unhorse his rival in front of the cheering crowd.
You must unhorse him or kill him.

A Knight's Tale (2001)
Then may he give me the strength to unhorse you... ...and send you with one blow back across the sea.

Excalibur (1981)
In the fierce battle, the warrior was determined to unhorse anyone who challenged him.

Synonyms

to throw

vsto unhorse

880 7.5

To make a person fall off an animal suddenly

involves being knocked from a riding animal usually by an opponent in combat

to unseat

vsto unhorse

1 5.8

Make someone fall from a seat, for example from a horse or bike

refers specifically to knocking someone off a riding animal during contests or battles

to wallop

vsto unhorse

Informal

1 6.7

To beat someone very easily and completely in a game or contest

is about a physical knock from a riding animal, not about winning a contest

to unmount

vsto unhorse

5.8

To get off a horse or bicycle after riding

describes being forced off rather than leaving voluntarily

Antonyms

to stay on

111 3.4

To remain in a place or job after others leave

Surface Forms

unhorse infinitive

unhorsed past

unhorsed past participle

unhorsing present participle

unhorses third person singular

Morphology

unhorse = horse (transparent) = un + horse

The verb is formed by adding the productive prefix 'un-' (meaning 'remove' or 'reverse') to 'horse', yielding 'knock off or dismount from a horse', which is directly inferable.

Etymology

Unhorse is made of un- ('remove') and horse, so a helpful way to remember the contest sense is to think of 'removing' someone from their horse by force. That's why in battles or jousts it means to knock an opponent off their mount.