When did the term ‘Thoroughbred’ originate?

The term ‘Thoroughbred’, written with an initial capital letter, refers to a breed of horses, to which all racehorses belong. Of course, the term ‘throughbred’ is used to describe to any pureblooded horse, of unmixed ancestry or descent, but, strictly speaking, refers exclusively to the Thoroughbred breed.

The Throughbred breed of horses was originally developed in Britain by crossing Arabian stallions with heavier native mares, thereby producing offspring blessed with both speed and stamina. Indeed, the ancestry of the breed can be traced back to three so-called foundation sires – namely the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian – who were imported to Britain in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. That said, the origin of the Byerley Turk is disputed and he may, in fact, have been foaled in Britain, but if there is insufficient evidence either way.

As a compound adjective, ‘Thoroughbred’ was first recorded around the turn of the eighteenth century and, obviously, formed by combining the adjective ‘thorough’, in the sense of ‘complete in every regard’, with the past participle of the verb ‘to breed’. Students of etymology may be interested to know that ‘thorough’ and ‘breed’ ancient words, both of which were first recorded before the end of the first millenium CE. ‘Thorough’ is derived from the Old English word ‘thuruh’, which in turn is a variant of ‘thurh’, meaning ‘through’. The verb ‘to breed’, on the other hand, comes from the Middle English word ‘breden’, which had its roots in the Old English word ‘bredan’, meaning ‘to nourish’.