colt evil

noun — 2 senses

colt evil

noun
1

Obsolete A swelling in the genitals of horses.

  • The Colt-evil is a continued Stiffness in a Horse's Yard, and is so call'd, because it is a Disease incident to Colts, and is brought upon them by having full Liberty with Mares while they are not able to cover them […]1722, William Gibson, chapter XLV, in The Farrier's New Guide, 3rd edition:
  • The Colt Evil chiefly affects young stoned colts, which have full liberty with mares before they are able to cover them.1838, R Bowers, A Modern and Practical Treatise on the Diseases of Horses:
2

Broadly, Obsolete Priapism.

  • young folks most apt to love, and by their good wills, saith Lucian, ‘would have a bout with every one they see’: the colt's evil is common to all complexions.1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition III, section 2, member 2, subsection i:

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