# "horse radish" origin

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-radish-origin/58458>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 18, 2001, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-radish-origin/58458 "2001-03-18T07:25:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pezwookiee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@pezwookiee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezwookiee)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-radish-origin/58458/1 "2001-03-18T07:25:28Z")

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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?

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**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-radish-origin/58458/2 "2001-03-18T07:37:45Z")

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

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**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-radish-origin/58458/3 "2001-03-18T07:57:54Z")

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Maybe because it has some kick to it.

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-radish-origin/58458/4 "2001-03-18T09:23:11Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> 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](http://www.takeourword.com/et_h-j.html#horseradish)