horsetails

Noun

horsetail (plural horsetails)

1. (literal) A tail of a horse.
2. Any of various simple vascular plants, of the order Equisetales, that have hollow stems and produce spores.
3. A Turkish standard denoting rank.
   • Commanders were distinguished by the number of horsetails carried before them. The sultan had seven, the grand vizier five, and the pashas three, two, or one.
4. A mare's tail, a water plant in genus Hippuris.
5. Any waterfall, the descending water of which maintains contact with bedrock most of the time.
6. cauda equina, a bundle of nerve fibers.

See all 7 meanings of horsetail