# 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!


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## 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.


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## Terio

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


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## 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.


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## Graciela J

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


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## 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.


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## 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


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## ThomasK

apmoy70 said:


> 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...


AndrasBP said:


> 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!


Welsh_Sion said:


> *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...


Graciela J said:


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


Does that mean: hard iron?


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## 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'.


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## 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.


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## Agró

ThomasK said:


> Does that mean: hard iron?


No.
See here.


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## ThomasK

L'irlandais said:


> 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..


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## apmoy70

ThomasK said:


> 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


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## ThomasK

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


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## 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.​


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## Olaszinhok

Graciela J said:


> *herradura*





Penyafort said:


> , _*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*.


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## Penyafort

Olaszinhok said:


> 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.


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## 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)


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## Olaszinhok

Terio said:


> 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)


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## ThomasK

Terio said:


> le *maréchal-ferrant* (the craftsman)


 the horseboy-ironworker, isn't it?


Olaszinhok said:


> *il maniscalco *(the craftsman)


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


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## Olaszinhok

ThomasK said:


> 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_.


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## ThomasK

Oh yes, the marshal!


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## 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!)


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## ThomasK

Fun!


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## 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).


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## 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)...


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