bronco

[ brong-koh ]

noun

, plural bron·cos.

1. a range pony or mustang of the western U.S., especially one that is not broken or is imperfectly broken.

bronco

/ ˈbrɒŋkəʊ /

noun

1. (in the US and Canada) a wild or partially tamed pony or mustang of the western plains

Word History and Origins

Origin of bronco¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1865–70; from Mexican Spanish, short for Spanish potro bronco “untamed colt” (in Mexican Spanish: “wild horse, half-tamed horse”); bronco, was apparently a nasalized variant of the Latin adjective broccus “projecting”; broach

Word History and Origins

Origin of bronco¹

C19: from Mexican Spanish, short for Spanish potro bronco unbroken colt, probably from Latin broccus projecting (as knots on wood), hence, rough, wild

Example Sentences

The @broncos will eat a ton of money.

From Seattle Times

She walked into a bar, met someone who knew a thing or two about riding bareback broncos and convinced him to train her.

From Seattle Times

From there, Strait downshifted again to the archetypal sad cowboy song “I Can Still Make Cheyenne,” which could make even the toughest bronco busters reach for their handkerchiefs.

From Seattle Times

The 45-minute bucking bronco of a ride down the rim ended at a marsh, where we ate a tasty boxed lunch of mustard-ginger chicken stew.

From New York Times

Competitions include bareback bronco riding, saddle bronco, steer roping, ribbon roping and wild cow milking.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• colt
• filly
• mare
• stallion