I have a question about the origin of the word “headstrong.” Various online so-called “etymologies” will either say, unhelpfully, that it’s a combination of the words “head” and “strong” (well, duh), or, equally unhelpfully, that it’s from an older word, “heedstronge”; neither of which I have reason to doubt, but they make you wonder if these etymologies know what the word “etymology” means.
I contend (have, in fact, contended out loud and to someone with whom the topic is now in contention) that the term is of equine origin. Meaning, not that that horses came up with it, but that it was originally in reference to a quality observed in a horse, in the same manner as “barn-sour.”
I am seeking confirmation, or, in lieu of that, truth from the Teeming Millions. (Cecil is also welcome to chime in.)
The earliest reference cited in the OED is from 1398, in which it’s being used to refer to a person.
To me it certainly seems possible it could have been originally used to refer to a horse, but in the absence of (600+ year old) evidence one can only speculate.
Before I even opened the thread I thought of horses, because of the phrase give him his head I.E. not using the reins to control the horse and letting it do what it wants.
A “headstrong” horse would be one that doesn’t respond to typical rein cues.