palomino

noun

pal·​o·​mi·​no ˌpa-lə-ˈmē-(ˌ)nō 

plural palominos

: a horse that is pale cream to gold in color and has a flaxen or white mane and tail

Examples of palomino in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Like any Boise kid, William Goodman grew up knowing landmarks such as the rearing palomino above the Ranch Club in Garden City. —Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 30 Oct. 2025

Ed the golden palomino (voiced by Western film actor Allan Lane) belonged to Wilbur Post (Alan Young), a young architect who decides to moves out of the city and closer to nature. —Marc Berman, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025

One of the key myths about sherry is that the palomino, its primary grape, is neutral and required fortification, intricate blending in the cellar and exposure to air, as with oloroso sherries, or aging under flor, a yeast that gives personality to fino and manzanilla sherries. —Eric Asimov, New York Times, 3 July 2023

Even more people believe palominos are albinos, which is incorrect. —Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 17 Apr. 2023

This 1988 cabernet-colored 560 SL with a palomino interior. —Martin Albert For The Wall Street Journal, WSJ, 12 Nov. 2022

Ecoffey spotted the chunky palomino through his living room window and rummaged through the fridge for some carrots. —Hanna Krueger, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Oct. 2022

One owner reported a palomino stallion stalled next to her horse was wearing an electric shock collar on his neck. —Ahjané Forbes, Hartford Courant, 8 Aug. 2022

Eliff tapped on a model palomino and pointed at Stetson. —Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post, 28 July 2022

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from American Spanish, from Spanish, "wood pigeon chick," from paloma "wood pigeon" (going back, with change of ending, to Latin palumbēs, palumbus) + -ino, noun suffix, here with diminutive value, going back to Latin -īnus -ine entry 1; palumbēs perhaps from pal- as in pallēre "to be pale or colorless" + -umb- as in columba "dove, pigeon" — more at fallow entry 1, columbine

Note: American Spanish palomino is perhaps more likely to have been formed directly from paloma "wood pigeon" and the adjective suffix -ino, hence meaning "of a wood pigeon, having the color of a wood pigeon," though the bird is actually gray with a pinkish breast, not immediately suggesting the color of the horse. Such an adjective does not appear to be attested. Note that palomino is also the name of a white wine grape in Spain, again presumed to allude to the color of the bird. – Latin palumbēs is usually compared with Greek péleia and peleiás "pigeon, dove," apparently with the same base as the color adjective peliós "discolored from bruising" and poliós "pale gray"—see the forms listed at the etymology of fallow entry 1.

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for palomino

• argentino
• campesino
• cappuccino
• diamino
• filipino
• maraschino
• pilipino
• amino
• carlino
• casino
• imino
• ladino

Kids Definition

palomino

noun

pal·​o·​mi·​no ˌpal-ə-ˈmē-nō 

plural palominos

: a horse with a light golden coat and cream or white mane and tail