English▸ noun
(plural hackneys)
mainly historical a horse or pony of a light breed with a high-stepping trot, used in harness. ▪ [usually as modifier] a horse-drawn vehicle kept for hire:
a hackney coach.
– ORIGIN Middle English: probably from Hackney in East London, where horses were pastured. The term originally denoted an ordinary riding horse (as opposed to a war horse or draught horse), especially one available for hire: hence hackney carriage or coach, and the archaic verb hackney meaning ‘use (a horse) for ordinary riding’, later ‘make commonplace by overuse’ (see hackneyed).