"horse radish" origin

[pezwookiee]

Hey, some of my buddies were trying to figure out the origin of the word "horse radish." I knew that if the answer were to be found, that you guys would be the place to go. Any leads?

[Smeghead]

I always thought it was because horses enjoy eating it. But I could very well be wrong.

[Speaker for the Dead]

Maybe because it has some kick to it.

[bibliophage]

The word horse came to be associated in the 15th century with the attributes of coarseness, roughness, or large size, alluding to the large size of the horses of that time. Therefore, the larger, more pungent of the radishes came to be known as the horseradish
http://www.takeourword.com/et_h-j.html#horseradish