ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
1.
a. : a figure designed to resemble a horse and made of light material (as wickerwork) that is fastened about the waist of a dancer (as in the morris dance or in Spanish or Javanese dance rituals) who dances about imitating the movements of a high-spirited horse
b. : a dancer wearing this figure and performing a dance associated with it
2. obsolete : buffoon
3.
a. : a child's plaything which consists typically of a stick having an imitation horse's head at one end and sometimes wheels at the other and which the child straddles and pretends to ride — called also stick horse
b. : one of the horses on a merry-go-round
c. : rocking horse
d. : a toy horse suspended by springs from a frame
4.
a. : something (as a pet idea or favorite topic or special object of concern) with which one is preoccupied or to which one constantly reverts
this is one of his political hobbyhorses
specifically : a cranky obsession
b. archaic : hobby 3b
5. : dandy horse