Trav
/træv/noun
A trotting gait, especially in harness-racing terminology.
Did you know?English borrowed “trav” from Swedish, where trav remains the ordinary word for a horse’s trot and is central to Sweden’s famous harness-racing culture.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic period
Germanic
*tramp- / *drab-
“A reconstructed Germanic family of words associated with stepping, moving, or trotting; the precise ancestry of Swedish trav is debated.”
Middle High German
Middle High German
trāben
“To trot or move at a steady, lively pace.”
Early Modern Swedish
Swedish
trav
“A horse’s trot; later, the trotting gait used in harness racing.”
19th Century
English
trav
“A borrowed racing term for a trot or trotting gait.”
Modern English
English
trav
“A specialized term referring to trotting, particularly in horse-racing contexts.”