packhorse
"packhorse" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“packhorse” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A horse used as a pack animal.
Corpus desk
Index EN-packhorse · packhorse · English
packhorse · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | packhorse |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “packhorse” in English
Rare enough to double-check
packhorse is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A horse used as a pack animal.".
Zero misspellings are on record for packhorse in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From pack + horse, possibly (from an uncertain date) via Middle English palhors (read pakhorse). The correct English form is packhorse, spelled P-A-C-K-H-O-R-S-E.
Definition
- 1A horse used as a pack animal.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how packhorse appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The two Indians were finished with their own saddling, the camp gear was packed, and already the extra saddle horses and their one packhorse were haltered so they could be led back to the ranch.
Finally they put him on one of De Soto's packhorses, but even on a packhorse his feet hung down to within a few inches of the ground.
Etymology
From pack + horse, possibly (from an uncertain date) via Middle English palhors (read pakhorse).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.