Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A cramp or stiffness in a muscle, especially of the upper leg, caused by injury or excessive exertion.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun idiomatic A
muscle cramp , usually in thethigh orleg .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a muscular cramp (especially in the thigh or calf) following vigorous exercise
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Originally baseball slang, of unknown origin.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
The term may date back to American slang of the 1880s, possibly from the pitcher Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn who is said to have suffered from cramps.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word charley horse.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
treeseed commented on the word charley horse
Merriam-Webster Dictonary
noun
Etymology: from Charley, nickname for Charles
Date: 1888
: a muscular pain, cramping, or stiffness especially of the quadriceps that results from a strain or bruise
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word charley horse
Charlie Horse was a charming hand puppet used by puppeteer Shari Lewis. A friend of Lamb Chop.
Shari Lewis (January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s.
February 2, 2008
bilby commented on the word charley horse
Never heard this in Australia.
April 5, 2010