Houyhnhnm

noun

Hou·yhn·hnm ˈhwi-nəm hü-ˈi-nəm

: a member of a race of horses endowed with reason in Swift's Gulliver's Travels

Word History

First Known Use

1726, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of Houyhnhnm was in 1726

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

houvari

Houyhnhnm

HOV

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Houyhnhnm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Houyhnhnm. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Houyhnhnm

noun

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

slew

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes