Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Indian pony

Indian pony

6.1
A small strong horse used for riding by Native American people on the plains
  • noun
  • /ˈɪndiən ˈpoʊni/
  • US
translation icon : póney indio
  • But on May 26, 1888, when a friend of the superintendent's son came visiting and tied his "smart Indian pony" near the gate, the old cavalryman saw his chance.

Examples

  • The children rode their Indian pony around the pasture, enjoying the gentle autumn breeze.

  • I haven't seen you since you were selling Indian ponies to the cavalry.

    Cimarron (1960)

  • Ahead of them, on a painted Indian pony, rode a man with a bearded face.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • He swung into the saddle and led an Indian pony over to the group.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • During the festival, a group of Native Americans showcased their colorful costumes while riding Indian ponies.

  • The Indian pony is known for its endurance, making it ideal for long journeys across the plains.

Synonyms

cayuse
vsIndian pony
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small, strong horse from western North America used for riding and work

is used for similar horses across western North America rather than only Pacific Northwest

Surface Forms

Indian pony singular
Indian ponies plural

Morphology

Indian + pony

The compound is a straightforward adjective + noun: 'Indian' (pertaining to Native American peoples) + 'pony' (a small horse), so the sense 'a small horse associated with Native Americans' is directly derivable from its parts. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, and this compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand the MWE.

Etymology

Indian pony comes from the small, tough horses that many Native American people kept and rode on the plains; they were often called ponies because of their size. So Indian pony today means a 'small, strong horse' used by Native Americans.