Yearling
/ˈjɪr.lɪŋ/noun
A young animal, especially a horse, that is about one year old.
Did you know?Yearling is built from the Old English word for “year” plus the suffix -ling, an ancient Germanic ending for something small, young, or belonging to a category.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*yēr-
“year, season”
Old English
OE
ġēar
“year”
Old English
OE
ġēarling
“a year-old animal; a young creature of one year”
Middle English
ME
yerling
“a creature in its first year”
Modern English
English
yearling
“a young animal, especially one about a year old”