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Glite Dictionary
Pony Express

Pony Express

2 7.0
A fast mail service in the United States using riders on horses
  • noun
  • /ˈpoʊni ɪkˈsprɛs/
translation icon : Pony Express
  • Because you had the Pony Express, which was the way people communicated, sent mail or packages.
  • Pony Express rider
  • ride for the Pony Express

Because you had the Pony Express, which was the way people communicated, sent mail or packages.

Examples

  • During its brief operation, the Pony Express became an iconic symbol of rapid communication in America.

  • Interested persons should apply at the local Pony Express company.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Just like the Pony Express was replaced by the USPS, many things change.

    Blog text (33)

  • Ironically, Highway 50 is laid almost exactly along the same line as the legendary Pony Express!

    Blog text (31)

  • I loved to trace the route of the Pony Express, of the Underground Railroad, and of De Soto's search for gold.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Even while North and South were being torn apart... ...East and West had been drawn together by the Pony Express... ...the most daring mail route in history.

    How the West Was Won (1962)

  • Resolutions of the Legislature of California in Favor of the Overland Mail and Pony Express (1862).

    Academic text (2015)

  • The Pony Express was known for its fast horseback riders who delivered mail across the country.

  • Many people relied on the Pony Express to send important letters between Missouri and California.

How Fast

to airmail
1 2.8
Pony Express
2 7.0
mail train
  • Archaic
1 2.6
stagecoach
  • Archaic
15 8.3

Surface Forms

Pony Express singular
Pony Expresses plural

Morphology

pony + express

The compound 'Pony Express' is compositionally built from 'pony' (small horse) and 'express' (fast mail/service), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a fast mail delivery system using ponies. Although it is a historical proper name, the meaning is directly derivable from its constituents and follows a transparent compound pattern common across languages.

Etymology

Pony Express comes from a real 1860s mail service where young riders on small ponies rode very fast and took turns along long routes to carry letters. That's why Pony Express refers to that famous, very fast 'mail' service across the United States.