horsetail

[ hawrs-teyl ]
/ ˈhɔrsˌteɪl /

noun

Also called scouring rush. any nonflowering plant of the genus Equisetum, having hollow, jointed stems.
a horse's tail formerly used as a Turkish military standard or as an ensign of a pasha, the number of tails increasing with the rank.

Origin of horsetail

First recorded in 1350–1400, horsetail is from the Middle English word horse tayle. See horse, tail1

Words nearby horsetail

horseshoe fern, horseshoe fistula, horseshoe kidney, horseshoe magnet, horseshoes, horsetail, horsetail agaric, horsetail tree, horseweed, horsewhip, horsewoman

Example sentences from the Web for horsetail

British Dictionary definitions for horsetail

horsetail
/ (ˈhɔːsˌteɪl) /

noun

any tracheophyte plant of the genus Equisetum, having jointed stems with whorls of small dark toothlike leaves and producing spores within conelike structures at the tips of the stems: phylum Sphenophyta
a stylized horse's tail formerly used as the emblem of a pasha, the number of tails increasing with rank

Scientific definitions for horsetail

horsetail
[ hôrs′tāl′ ]

A member of a genus, Equisetum, of seedless vascular plants having a jointed hollow stem and narrow, sometimes much reduced leaves. Plants extremely similar to modern horsetails are known from fossils 300 million years old. The horsetails are the last surviving members of the phylum Sphenophyta, which dominated the forests of the Devonian and Carboniferous periods.