nicker
UK[ˈnɪkə]US[ˈnɪkər]
v
(of a horse) to make a gentle, low, breathy sound; to neigh softly.
n
a gentle, low, breathy sound made by a horse.
Etymology
The word 'nicker' is an onomatopoeic formation from the late 17th century, created to mimic the gentle, low, whickering sound made by a horse. It is part of a family of similar imitative words for animal sounds, such as 'neigh' and 'whinny'. The logic of its formation is direct and sensory, with the sequence of sounds /ˈnɪkər/ phonetically approximating the characteristic noise. Its meaning has remained stable and concrete, referring specifically to this soft equine vocalization.
Analysis
The word 'nicker' is a simplex word of imitative origin, meaning it was formed to imitate a natural sound. It functions as a whole unit to represent the vocalization of a horse.
Examples
The mare would nicker softly when her foal approached.
We could hear the comforting nicker of the horses from the stable at dusk.
The old gelding let out a friendly nicker as I offered him an apple.