pony

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpəʊni/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpoʊni/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊni

1659 from Scots powny, apparently from Middle French poulenet (“little foal”), ultimately from Late Latin pullanus (“young of an animal”), from pullus (cognate to English foal). Sense “small serving of alcohol” from 19th century, both for small sizes generally and for a quarter pint specifically, from the small size.^[1]

pony (plural ponies)

1. A small horse; specifically, any of several small breeds of horse under 14.2 hands at the withers.
2. (endearing) A horse of any size.
3. a contraption built like a mount, strong enough to support one's weight
4. (regional) A small serving of an alcoholic beverage, especially beer.
   • 1879, “Some Queer Interviews: Interview with a Pony of Beer”, Puck, Vol. 5–6, p. 435
   • 1885, New York Journal, August:^[2]

     ‘I’m on the inside track,’ said a pony of beer as it went galloping down a man’s throat.

   • 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 193:

     Demon popped into his mouth a last morsel of black bread with elastic samlet, gulped down a last pony of vodka and took his place at the table with Marina facing him across its oblong length.

   • 2010, Dick Lynas, Pies Were for Thursdays: Tales from an Ordinary Glasgow East End Childhood, page 283:

     I did not even know what a ‘pony’, a small chaser of beer, was. But of course I could not admit that. So putting on an air of nonchalance, and a deep voice, I strolled into a pub with one of the other equally naive guys and we ordered two ponies of beer.
     ‘McEwans?’ asked the barman.
     ‘Naw - ponies’ said I.

5. (Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia) A serving of 140 millilitres of beer (formerly 5 fl oz); a quarter pint.
6. (UK, slang) Twenty-five pounds (money).
   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 61, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

     “You said a pony,” interposed Clavering; “my dear fellow, you said a pony, and I’ll be eternally obliged to you; and I’ll not take it as a gift—only as a loan, and pay you back in six months. I take my oath, I will.”
     “Well—well—there’s the money, Sir Francis Clavering. […] Here’s five-and-twenty for you.

7. (US, slang) A translation used as a study aid; loosely, a crib, a cheat-sheet.
   • 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Library of America, published 1985, page 104:

     She kept the dates written down in her Latin 'pony', so she didn't have to bother about who it was.

8. (slang) A ponytail hairstyle.
   • 2012, Amlynn Smith, Lost and Found, page 18:

     His hair is a semilong dull red and pulled back in a sloppy pony at the base of his neck, and his face is riddled with small freckles and grease, but out here I can see personal hygiene isn't exactly at the top of the priority list.

9. (automotive, slang) One horsepower.

   How many ponies are under the hood?

10. (preceded by definite article) A dance from the 1960s in which the dancer mimics the high-stepping prance of a pony.
    • 1971, “Suicide Song”, in Loudon Wainwright III (lyrics), Album II, performed by Loudon Wainwright III:

      Do the monkey, do the pony / Do the slop, do the boogaloo twist.

11. (slang) A chorus girl of small stature.
    • 1941, Thoda Cocroft, Great Names and how They are Made, page 140:

      He suggested a Rose Ballet in which he would use the G. V. Follies chorus girls, chiefly the ponies and mediums.

12. (slang, derogatory, video games) Ellipsis of Sony pony.

• horseling (small horse)
• buck (mount)

pony (third-person singular simple present ponies, present participle ponying, simple past and past participle ponied)

1. (transitive) To lead (a horse) from another horse.
2. To use a crib or cheat-sheet in translating.

Clipping of pony and trap, rhyming with crap.

pony (not comparable)

1. (Cockney rhyming slang) Of little worth.

pony (plural ponies)

1. (Cockney rhyming slang) Crap; rubbish, nonsense.

• PNoy, Pyon

• poník

• IPA^(key): [ˈponɪ]

pony m anim (diminutive ponynek)

1. pony

• “pony”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “pony”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “pony”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Borrowed from English pony.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔ.ni/, (uncommon) /ˈpoː.ni/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: po‧ny
• Rhymes: -ɔni

pony m (plural pony's, diminutive pony'tje n)

1. a pony, small horse breed

• ponyhaar
• verzorgpony

• → Indonesian: poni

• paard

Shortened back from ponyhaar.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔ.ni/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: po‧ny
• Rhymes: -ɔni

pony n or m (plural pony's, diminutive pony'tje n)

1. a hairstyle with a fringe/bangs

Unadapted borrowing from English pony.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔ.ni/
• Rhymes: -ɔni
• Hyphenation: pò‧ny

pony m (invariable)

1. pony
2. pony express

• poník

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɔni]

pony m animal

1. pony

• “pony”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

• poni
• póney

Unadapted borrowing from English pony.

• IPA^(key): /ˈponi/ [ˈpo.ni]
• Rhymes: -oni
• Syllabification: po‧ny

pony m (plural ponys)

1. pony

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.