Horseshoe

[ThomasK]

Could you translate

into your language? And: does it bring (good) luck?

In the languages I know I see references to iron, to shoe (but only in English?), to hooves, ... Looking forward to others!

 

[Fooler]

Hi Thomas, in Italian the translation is FERRO DI CAVALLO and it is a simbol of good luck too. The tradition wants it hanging on a door with its ends facing upward as per your picture.

 

[Terio]

In French, fer à cheval (litterally: « horse iron »). And yet it is a symbol of good luck.

 

[apmoy70]

In Greek it's «πέταλο» [ˈpe.ta.lɔ] (neut.) < Classical deverbative neut. noun «πέταλον» pétălŏn --> metal, or, gold plating, also, petal (the leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers) < Classical athematic v. «πετάννυμι» pĕtắnnŭmĭ --> to spread out, unfold, open (PIE *peth₂- to spread out cf Lat. patēre).
The farrier is «πεταλωτής» [pe.ta.lɔˈtis] (masculine, the feminine «πεταλώτρια» [pe.taˈlɔ.tri.a] is extremely rare if not non-existent at all).
The verb is «πεταλώνω» [pe.taˈlɔ.nɔ] --> to shoe a horse.
It is indeed a symbol of good luck.

 

[Graciela J]

In Spanish: herradura (from hierro, iron). It is a symbol of good luck.

 

[Welsh_Sion]

Cymraeg/Welsh

'pedol' - Perhaps from Latin, 'pedalis' (= belonging to the foot). (GPC is not sure). (cf The comments of @apmoy70 as well - but GPC doesn't mention Greek.)

Yes, as many have said, it's a symbol of good luck, provided that it is placed/held in the 'u' shape as illustrated. (This holds the luck 'in'.) However, turn the horseshoe through 180 degrees and the bad luck 'falls out' and this can lead to/or is a sign of bad luck.

Incidentally, in Southern Welsh, the letter/vowel 'u' is often given as 'u bedol' (= 'u horseshoe') in spelling out (e.g. in telephone conversations) as the vowels/letters i, u, and y can be pronounced the same in Southern Welsh.

Edit: Noticing that many here are referencing horses. Can you do, as we do, refer to similar attachments to e.g. bovines? Obviously, 'horseshoe' itself doesn't seem to work. But pedol does accommodate a similar 'shoe' worn by cattle.

 

[AndrasBP]

In various Slavic languages, the word for 'horseshoe' does not contain the elements 'horse', 'shoe', 'hoof' or 'iron'.
It is 'podkova' or a similar word, consisting of the verbal prefix (or preposition) pod ('under') + the verbal root 'kov-' (to forge):

Russian/Bulgarian: podkova (подкова)
Croatian: potkova
Serbian: potkovica
Polish: podkowa
Czech: podkova

The Slavic word was borrowed by several non-Slavic languages:

Hungarian: patkó
Romanian: potcoavă
Albanian: patkoi

 

[ThomasK]

In Greek it's «πέταλο» [ˈpe.ta.lɔ] (neut.)

I thought for a second it might have to do with a pedal, which would be related to foot (or leg) and would have seemed more predictable - as in Welsh as a matter of fact. But you will be right. However, I'd be interested to find out about some kind of logic linking petals with feet/ iron/shoes/ opening up...

In various Slavic languages, the word for 'horseshoe' does not contain the elements 'horse', 'shoe', 'hoof' or 'iron'.
It is 'podkova' or a similar word, consisting of the verbal prefix (or preposition) pod ('under') + the verbal root 'kov-' (to forge)

This is exactly what I needed: the analysis of the word. Thanks!

Cymraeg/Welsh
Edit: Noticing that many here are referencing horses. Can you do, as we do, refer to similar attachments to e.g. bovines? Obviously, 'horseshoe' itself doesn't seem to work. But pedol does accommodate a similar 'shoe' worn by cattle.

I ùust simply admit I did not realize other animals could be shod too. I had also been thinking about the link with good luck, and then there would not be a link with cowshoes or something the like...

In Spanish: herradura (from hierro, iron). It is a symbol of good luck.

Does that mean: hard iron?

 

[AndrasBP]

Turkish, Kurdish, Persian, Armenian and Georgian seem to use 'nal', an Arabic loanword.
From what I've found, the Arabic word is derived from an old Semitic root meaning 'shoe'.

 

[L'irlandais]

In Irish: crú capaill = horseshoe - Translation to Irish Gaelic by New English-Irish Dictionary
I certainly remember donkeys being shod too, from my childhood. To protect their hooves from the metalled roads. The iron shoe is a charm in Ireland, but that may be adopted from English culture.

 

[Agró]

Does that mean: hard iron?

No.
See here.

 

[ThomasK]

In Irish: crú capaill = horseshoe - Translation to Irish Gaelic by New English-Irish Dictionary
I certainly remember donkeys being shod too, from my childhood. To protect their hooves from the metalled roads. The iron shoe is a charm in Ireland, but that may be adopted from English culture.

You are right. We just did not have any animals around here being shod but horses..

 

[apmoy70]

I thought for a second it might have to do with a pedal, which would be related to foot (or leg) and would have seemed more predictable - as in Welsh as a matter of fact. But you will be right. However, I'd be interested to find out about some kind of logic linking petals with feet/ iron/shoes/ opening up...

Probably because it had nothing to do with the modern shape of horseshoe; the ancient/mediaeval one was a piece of iron that had to be hammered out and spread in order to cover the horse's hoof:
Click me

 

[ThomasK]

That is great information. It changes our stereotypical view of "horseshoes". Thanks a lot!

 

[Penyafort]

In Catalan, ferradura, from ferrar "to shoe (with iron)" + noun suffix -dura (from Latin ferrare "bind with iron").

The Catalan-Valencian-Balearic Dictionary says (source from the early 20th century):

​

Es freqüent la creença que guardant i tenint penjada o clavada darrera la porta de casa una ferradura vella, que s'hagi trobat per casualitat, es defensa la casa contra encantaments i fetilleries, i en general s'adquireix bona sort. Si la ferradura ha estat trobada en divendres, diuen que encara té més virtut (cf. Camps Folkl. ii, 96-97; Tres. Avis, 1928, pàg. 113). Irònicament es diu que el qui guarda una ferradura, no acaba mai el ferro; i com que a Menorca es diu ferro a la moneda de coure o «calderilla», la gent crèdula ho interpreta en el sentit que no s'acaben mai els diners.​

It is common to believe that keeping or hanging behind one's home door an old horseshoe found by chance, protects the house against spells and curses, usually getting good luck. If you came across the horseshoe on Friday, it is said to be even more virtuous. Ironically, it is said that one who keeps a horseshoe will never run out of iron. In Minorca, since they call small change ferro 'iron', believers interpret this to mean they'll never run out of money.​

 

[Olaszinhok]

herradura

, ferradura, from ferrar "to shoe (with iron)" + noun suffix -dura (from Latin ferrare "bind with iron").

Apparently, Italian ferratura is a false friend. It actually means shoeing, that is to say, taking care of horses' hooves and shoeing them if they need protection. As has been already said horseshoe is ferro di cavallo.

 

[Penyafort]

Apparently, Italian ferratura is a false friend. It actually means shoeing, that is to say, taking care of horses' hooves and shoeing them if they need protection. As has been already said horseshoe is ferro di cavallo.

I see. Clearly a false friend! Although an understandable one, as the suffix is also used in Catalan sometimes for actions of the verb.

What's more interesting for me, I did some research -since usually when a term is the same in Italian and French, it used to be the same in Catalan too- and I've found that ferro de cavall was also used in old texts. However, ferradura seems to have always been the most usual one, already more used in the first literary texts.

 

[Terio]

They clearly belong to the same family of words.

In French, we have :

fer (à cheval) : the "shoe"
ferrer un cheval (the verb)
le ferrage du cheval (the name of the action)
le maréchal-ferrant (the craftsman)

 

[Olaszinhok]

They clearly belong to the same family of words.

In French, we have :

fer (à cheval) : the "shoe"
ferrer un cheval (the verb)
le ferrage du cheval (the name of the action)
le maréchal-ferrant (the craftsman)

It's not exactly the same in all the languages, for instance in Italian we have
Ferro di cavallo: the horseshoe
ferrare un cavallo: (the verb)
la ferratura del cavallo (the action)
but il maniscalco (the craftsman)

 

[ThomasK]

le maréchal-ferrant (the craftsman)

the horseboy-ironworker, isn't it?

il maniscalco (the craftsman)

the aid-hoof literally (mani = giving a hand)?

 

[Olaszinhok]

the aid-hoof literally (mani = giving a hand)?

Apparently mani (hands) have nothing to do with maniscalco. It should come from Frankish marhskalk "servant" (skalk) and stable boy or boy in charge of horses (marh)". However, there might have been a later assimilation with mani.

 

[ThomasK]

Oh yes, the marshal!

 

[Welsh_Sion]

As we are now going into the realms of horses, I see from @Olaszinhok that he quotes Frankish marh for 'horse'.

Here's a thought. The old word for horse in Cymraeg/Welsh is march /marX/, which is on a par with the current Breton word, marc'h and Irish marc. (See also, Old English, mearh). It will also be recalled that Esyllt's (> Isolde, Iseult) husband and Tristan's uncle, who is also King of Cornwall, in Tristan ac Esyllt is Marc/Mark.

In Modern Welsh, march is more 'stallion' or 'war-horse' or 'steed' and its rider, marchog i.e. 'knight'. We use ceffyl (< caballus) for 'horse', today.

Just another aside. seeing the Slavs use 'kov-' for to forge (post 7), the Welsh and Cornish word for a blacksmith is gof, the etymology of which GPC cites as being purely Celtic. (It is one of only two words to have the plural ending -aint). Blacksmiths were highly valued in Celtic myth.

This gives the 'English' surnames, Gough and Goff (and possibly then by extension van Gough - but not the 'van' bit!)

 

[ThomasK]

Fun!

 

[AutumnOwl]

Swedish:
Hästsko - horse shoe
Hovslagare - hoof beater (farrier)

Finnish:
Hevosenkenkä - horse's shoe
Kengitysseppä - hoof beater smith (the word kengitys comes from the word for shoes (kenkä), but the form kengitys is used (only?) for farrier work).

 

[ThomasK]

Your Swedish looks like Dutch: lit. *hengstschoen (male horse shoe) but we call it hoefijzer (hoof-iron); literally *hoefslager, but we call it smid (smith)...