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hitching post

hitching post

2 6.2
A post with a ring used to tie a horse outside
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : poste de amarre
  • When he reached the sheriff's office at the far end of town, Franklin swung down from his dappled grey horse and took a wrap of the hitching post with one of the leather reins.
  • tie a horse to the hitching post

Examples

  • They have also found, throughout the dig sites, broken tools, parts of carriages, and what appears to be a hitching post.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Beyond the hitching post, a dirt road ran past the fenced pastures and out into the open range.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The hitching post is gone.

  • I knew the exact location of the hitching post on the other side of the wall.

  • At the curb were a mounting block and hitching post.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • At the hitching post, my horse Mouse was sleeping upright in the noon sun.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I tied Cheyenne to the hitching post and walked around to the back patio.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Ian tethered the horse to a rusted hitching post, resettled his hat, and crossed the yard to stand facing her.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Mr. Archy refused to look in their direction, climbed down from the buckboard, and quietly tied the mare to the hitching post.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • I tied my horse to the hitching post while I grabbed a drink.

Synonyms

hitchrack
vshitching post
  • Archaic
9.9

A fixed post or rail where people tie horses so they do not wander away

is a fixed upright post usually fitted with a ring for tying horses
hitching bar
vshitching post
  • Archaic
9.1

A fixed horizontal bar that people tie horses to so they do not wander

is a fixed upright post usually fitted with a ring for tying horses

How Large

post
99 1.0
hitchrack
  • Archaic
9.9
hitching post
  • Archaic
2 6.2
hitching bar
  • Archaic
9.1

Surface Forms

hitching post singular

Morphology

hitch + post

The meaning 'a post for tying a horse' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'hitch' (to fasten/tie) with 'post' (an upright stake). This is a straightforward purpose-denoting compound/phrase that follows common English composition patterns and is cross-linguistically plausible, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand it.

Etymology

The noun hitching post comes from old towns and farms where a hitch meant 'to tie' and a post was a strong wooden pole. People would tie their horse to the post while they went into a shop, so the phrase means a post used to keep a horse from wandering.