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Glite Dictionary
post horse

post horse

9.9
A horse kept at an inn for travelers or mail carriers to ride
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : caballo de posta
  • After changing to a new post horse at the post house, the messenger quickly resumed his route.

Examples

  • The innkeeper offered a fresh post horse to the weary mail carrier.

  • The inn had a post horse ready for travelers.

  • In the eighteenth century, travelers often relied on a post horse to continue their journey between towns.

  • Many post horses were used during the 18th century.

  • Travelers often relied on a post horse to make long journeys quicker.

  • In historical times, people would rent a post horse at inns to continue their trips.

  • The post horse was ready at the station, eager to carry the mail to the next town.

Synonyms

poster
vspost horse
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A horse kept at an inn for mail delivery or for travelers to hire

has the same meaning but is marked explicitly as historical
post-horse
vspost horse
  • Archaic
9.9

A horse kept at an inn for hire to travelers or by mail carriers

has identical meaning but used especially in earlier historical contexts

Surface Forms

post horse singular
post horses plural

Morphology

post + horse

The compound meaning — a horse kept for the post/mail or at a post house — is directly compositional from 'post' (as in mail/relay station) + 'horse', so a learner who knows both words can infer a horse used for postal or relay travel. Although the term is somewhat archaic, the relation is literal and cross-linguistically plausible, making it readily understandable to a B1 learner familiar with the 'post' sense.

Etymology

The noun post horse comes from travel inns called 'post houses' where a fresh horse was kept ready for mail carriers or rented to travelers. So, post horse means 'a horse kept at an inn or post house for mail carriers or rented to travelers'.