Standard Lemma guide

horsetail

noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈhɔː(ɹ)s.teɪl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: HH AO1 R S T EY2 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A tail of a horse.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: literal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any of various simple vascular plants, of the order Equisetales, that have hollow stems and produce spores.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A Turkish standard denoting rank.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: government, military, politics, war

Examples

  • Commanders were distinguished by the number of horsetails carried before them. The sultan had seven, the grand vizier five, and the pashas three, two, or one.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A mare's tail, a water plant in genus Hippuris.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Any waterfall, the descending water of which maintains contact with bedrock most of the time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

cauda equina, a bundle of nerve fibers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A ponytail hairstyle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

perennial rushlike flowerless herbs with jointed hollow stems and narrow toothlike leaves that spread by creeping rhizomes; tend to become weedy; common in northern hemisphere; some in Africa and South America

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fern ally

Narrower terms: common horsetail, field horsetail, Equisetum arvense, swamp horsetail, water horsetail, Equisetum fluviatile, scouring rush, rough horsetail, Equisetum hyemale, Equisetum hyemale robustum, Equisetum robustum, marsh horsetail, Equisetum palustre, wood horsetail, Equisetum Sylvaticum, variegated horsetail, variegated scouring rush, Equisetum variegatum

History

Etymology

From Middle English horsetaile, horstaile, equivalent to horse + tail.

Across languages

Translations

83 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Hungarian: lófarok — tail of a horse
  • Korean: 말꼬리 (malkkori) — tail of a horse
  • Middle English: horstaile — tail of a horse
  • Welsh: marchrawn — tail of a horse
  • Albanian: këputje — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Arabic: كِنْبَاث (kinbāṯ) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Arabic: ذَنَب الْخَيْل (ḏanab al-ḵayl) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Aramaic: ܫܒܱܛܒܳܛܳܐ (šəḇaṭbāṭā) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Aramaic: שׁבטביטא (šəḇaṭbīṭā) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Aramaic: בטבוט (biṭbūṭ) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Armenian: ձիաձետ (jiajet) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Armenian: ասլանճ (aslanč) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Azerbaijani: qatırquyruğu — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Bashkir: ҡырҡбыуын шыршы үләне (qırqbıwın) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Bulgarian: хвощ (hvošt) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Catalan: cua de cavall — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Catalan: equiset — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Chinese Mandarin: 問荊 /问荆 (wènjīng) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Czech: přeslička — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Danish: padderokke — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Danish: padderok — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Dutch: paardenstaart — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Faroese: bjølluvísa — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Faroese: bjølga — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Finnish: korte — plant of the order Equisetales
  • French: prêle — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Galician: rabo de cabalo — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Galician: xestela — plant of the order Equisetales
  • German: Schachtelhalm — plant of the order Equisetales
  • German: Kannenkraut — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Greek: εκουιζέτο (ekouizéto) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Greek: ιππουρίδα (ippourída) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Ancient Greek: ἵππουρις (híppouris) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Hebrew: שְׁבַטְבָּט (šəḇaṭbā́ṭ) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Hungarian: zsurló — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Icelandic: elfting — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Ingrian: pökköheinä — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Irish: eireaball capaill — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Italian: coda di cavallo — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Japanese: 木賊 (tokusa) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Japanese: 杉菜 — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Komi-Zyrian: куз (kuz) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Komi-Zyrian: урбӧж (urböž) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Korean: 쇠뜨기 (soetteugi) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Latgalian: skūrsta — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Latgalian: ašķi — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Latin: equisētum — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Latvian: kosa — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Lithuanian: asiūklis — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Livonian: vȯžā — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Macedonian: коњско опавче (konjsko opavče) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Northern Mansi: ларысь (larysʹ) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Eastern Mari: урвоч (urvoč) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Eastern Mari: кидпунчемшудо (kidpunčemšudo) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Western Mari: урвач (urvač) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Navajo: ałtį́į́ʼ jikʼaashí — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Norman: coue d'rat — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Norwegian: snelle — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Persian: دم اسبی (dom asbi) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Polish: skrzyp — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Portuguese: cavalinha — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Romanian: coada-calului — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Romanian: barba-ursului — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Russian: хвощ (xvošč) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Serbo-Croatian: пре̏слица — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Serbo-Croatian: prȅslica — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Slovak: praslička — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Slovene: prẹ́slica — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Spanish: cola de caballo — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Spanish: equisetácea — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Swedish: fräken — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Tatar: наратбаш (naratbaş) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Turkish: atkuyruğu — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Turkish: kırkkilit — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Ottoman Turkish: آت قویروغی (at kuyruğu) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Udmurt: шилан (šilan) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Udmurt: коньыбыж (końybyž) — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Votic: õzʹzʹõ — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Welsh: marchrawn — plant of the order Equisetales
  • Bulgarian: конска опашка (konska opaška) — Turkish standard
  • Greek: ιππουρίδα (ippourída) — Turkish standard
  • Greek: ιππουρίς (ippourís) — Turkish standard
  • Russian: бунчу́к (bunčúk) — Turkish standard