widge

From Middle English wig, *wigge, from Old English wiċġ, from Proto-West Germanic *wigi, from Proto-Germanic *wigją, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to carry; move; transport; ride”).

• Rhymes: -ɪdʒ

widge (plural widges)

1. (poetic, archaic) A horse.
   • 1587, John Bridges, A Defence of the Government Established in the Church of Englande for Ecclesiasticall Matters.:

     But what liuinges ſoeuer he had, or hauing liuinges, how beastly ſoeuer he ſpared his money, and rode thether on his widge beaste.

   • 1998, Gary Blackwood, The Shakespeare Stealer‎:

     [addressing the narrator, named Widge] "I'm only going to see that he learns a lesson," said Nick innocently. "Now then. Widge, is it? You know what a widge is where I come from?"
     My throat felt too tight to speak. I shook my head.
     "A horse. I think I'll call you Horse, although I think you look more like an ass to me. […] "