# draught/draught horse **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151 "2005-03-12T05:32:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@cabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cabdude)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/1 "2005-03-12T05:32:07Z")
What is the etymological connection between draught beer and draught horses? I know that draught horses used to pull carts full of kegs of draught beer - is that a coincidence or not? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/2 "2005-03-12T05:49:13Z")
The OED has the horse definition of “draught” appearing in English before the beer definition. “Draught” originally referred to pulling a plough. Ahh, silent letters. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/3 "2005-03-12T06:02:24Z")
It’s an older form relating to the verb “to draw” e.g. the horse draws the plough; you draw the beer from the keg. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/4 "2005-03-12T06:09:02Z")
Of course where I come from draft horses pull plows and we drink draft beer. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/5 "2005-03-12T06:22:52Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > Of course where I come from draft horses pull plows and we drink draft beer. That’s my spelling too. _Draft_ horses draw a _dray_, among other things. Both of the italics come the same root, the OE _dragon_ - to draw or drag (from ME _draggen_ from ON _draga_). ---
**Author:** ![cabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@cabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cabdude)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/6 "2005-03-12T07:02:55Z")
So is ‘draught’ incorrect, or merely old-fashioned? I admit I was tempted to write ‘connexion’ above. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/7 "2005-03-12T08:44:29Z")
Horses are really bad spellers, particularly when they are drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/8 "2005-03-12T10:07:35Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > Of course where I come from draft horses pull plows and we drink draft beer. All that beer you’re drinking is clearly affecting your spelling ability. 🙂 > [@cabdude](#): > > So is ‘draught’ incorrect, or merely old-fashioned? It’s the preferred spelling given in all of the dictionaries that I have consulted. ---
**Author:** ![lynxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e99b99/32.png) [@lynxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynxie)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/9 "2005-03-12T10:36:10Z")
So would it be draughting or drafting (if one is drawing a buiding or suchlike)? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/10 "2005-03-12T14:15:27Z")
“Draft” appears to be the preferred spelling in the real world. Googling “draught horse” got 170,796 hits; “draft horse” got 1,256,401 hits. The various draft horse associations and magazines, such as [The Draft Horse Journal](http://www.drafthorsejournal.com/), in the United States tend to spell it “draft”. On the other hand, it’s spelled “draught” by all the Irish Draught Horse Societies around the world, including the [North American association](http://www.irishdraught.com/). My guess would be that “draft” is the more common American spelling, while “draught” is still standard in the British Commonwealth. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/11 "2005-03-12T14:23:32Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > My guess would be that “draft” is the more common American spelling, while “draught” is still standard in the British Commonwealth. That’s what my Merriam-Webster _Collegiate_ says. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draught-draught-horse/294151/12 "2005-03-12T14:34:00Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > “Draft” appears to be the preferred spelling in the real world. Googling “draught horse” got 170,796 hits; “draft horse” got 1,256,401 hits. > > The various draft horse associations and magazines, such as [The Draft Horse Journal](http://www.drafthorsejournal.com/), in the United States tend to spell it “draft”. On the other hand, it’s spelled “draught” by all the Irish Draught Horse Societies around the world, including the [North American association](http://www.irishdraught.com/). > > My guess would be that “draft” is the more common American spelling, while “draught” is still standard in the British Commonwealth. Those Daught Irish horses and their drunken spelling…