Houyhnhnm

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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Coined by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels as a humorous, onomatopoeic play on the sound made by horses.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /huˈɪn.əm/, /ˈhwɪn.əm/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Noun

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Houyhnhnm (plural Houyhnhnms)

  1. (fiction) One of a fictional race of exceptionally civilized creatures, who look exactly like horses, inhabiting the same land as the brutish Yahoos.
    • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author’s Veracity. His Design in Publishing this Work. []”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. [] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: [] Benj[amin] Motte, [], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), pages 340–341:
      I retain in my Mind the Lectures and Example of my noble Maſter and the other illuſtrious Houyhnhnms of whom I had ſo long the Honour to be an humble Hearer.
    • 1878, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 7, in Under the Lilacs:
      "The Squire says you know a good deal about horses, so I suppose you understand the Houyhnhnm language? I'm learning it, and it is very nice," laughed Miss Celia, as Chevalita gave a little whinny and snuffled her nose into Ben's pocket.
    • 1995 February 19, Marilyn Stasio, “What to Read: Crime”, in New York Times[1], retrieved March 3, 2021:
      ”The moment he called me his ‘gentle and reasonable Houyhnhnm,’” an archivist notes, “I should have known that the man was deranged.”
    • 2014 January 28, Will Self, “John Gray: Forget everything you know”, in Independent[2], retrieved March 3, 2021:
      Certainly the philosopher was not a pessimistic luncheon companion. He [] loped off in the direction of the London Library, leaving me with an impression of twinkling eyes, laughter lines (he whinnies like a donnish Houyhnhnm), and a sensibility genuinely focused on what will happen in the next five minutes - or five years - albeit one steeped in knowledge of the past.

Usage notes

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  • For convenience in spelling and reading, sometimes rendered as "Whinnim" or "Whinnem".

Further reading

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