means the plural of horse — large four-legged mammals domesticated for riding, hauling, and labor.

from From Old English "hors," a word shared across the old Germanic family (Old Norse "hross," Old High German "hros"). Its deeper root is uncertain — one tempting guess links it to a sense of "running" or "leaping," but that connection is unproven. Curiously, English already had "hors" long before it borrowed the Latin-derived "equine" and the unrelated "mare," so the everyday animal kept its plain Germanic name while the fancy adjectives arrived later.