Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fetlock

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.62 in modern English

Syllables: fet-lock
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A joint of the horse's leg below the knee or hock and above the hoof.

noun

The tuft of hair that grows at this joint.

Example Sentences

"It was the better part of a mile wide, but save for some fathoms in the middle, where the Sker current ran, it was no deeper even at flood than a horse's fetlocks."

Etymology

From Middle English fitlokes, feetlakkes pl, taken to be foot + lock (“tuft of hair”) but actually a misdivision of Old English -oc. Cognate with Middle Low German fitlok, fitlock (“fetlock”), Dutch vitlok, vittelokke, vitslok, German Fissloch, Fisloch, Fislach (“fetlock; pastern”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: fitlokes, -oc

Inflected Forms

fetlocks (plural) fetterlock (alternative) fewterlock (alternative)

Derived Forms

fetlocked

Synonyms

ankle fetlock joint

Questions

What does fetlock mean?: A joint of the horse's leg below the knee or hock and above the hoof.
Where does fetlock come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce fetlock

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fetlock”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “fetlock”.
Repeat and practice — Say “fetlock” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.