horse's foot
- noun
- /ˈhɔrsɪz fʊt/
- Before the race, the trainer made sure to clean the horse's foot thoroughly.
Examples
-
If he were to tell you about a nail in a horse's foot, he'd start off explaining coal and iron and how they make steel.
Fiction book (2002) -
The veterinarian examined the horse's foot for any signs of injury.
-
After a long ride, he noticed that his horse's foot was tender and needed care.
Synonyms
A hard covering at the end of an animal's foot like a horse or cow
Surface Forms
Morphology
horse's + foot
This is a straightforward possessive composition: 'horse's' (of a horse) + 'foot' (part used for standing) yields 'the foot of a horse' (i.e. the hoof). The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents and the possessive + noun pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand it.
Etymology
Horse's foot names the hard, protective hoof at the end of a horse's leg. People who care for horses trim and clean the horse's foot so the animal can walk and run without pain, so the phrase means 'the hoof of a horse'.