ˈside-ˌsaddle, n. (and adv.)
[side n.1]
1. A saddle so contrived as to enable a woman to sit with both feet on one (usually the left or near) side of a horse; in mod. use spec. one with horns or crutches to support and give a hold to the knees of the rider, who sits facing forward with the right knee raised.
| 1493 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 164 Imprimis sol. Willelmo Burton pro emendacione unius syd saddyl quæ fuit dominæ Markyndfeld, 5d. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 214 Wylliam Coffin Master of the Horses leadyng a spare horse with a syde saddle. 1598 Stow Surv. 65 King Richard tooke to wife Anne, daughter to the King of Boheme, that first brought hither the riding upon side saddles. 1630 Hakewill Apol. (ed. 2) 273 The vse of hoppes in our drinke, of riding in coaches, and of side-saddles, but since the time of Richard the 2 here with vs. 1661 Pepys Diary 17 Sept., So I went..to take leave, and of Mr. Townsend did borrow a very fine side-saddle for my wife. 1716–8 Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. I. xxxvi. 134 My side-saddle is the first that was ever seen in this part of the world. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 13 ¶8 She has twenty covers for side-saddles. 1823 Lady Granville Lett. (1894) I. 228 Nobody has hinted at a side-saddle or wheeled vehicle for me. 1865 W. G. Palgrave Arabia II. 176 We remounted our side-saddles and galloped homewards. 1880 in Mrs. P. O'Donoghue Ladies on Horseback 266 Being able to sit square and ride straight on a side-saddle. |
b. Used as adv. On a side-saddle; sideways.
| 1885 Globe 5 Nov. (Cassell), Anne of Bohemia exhibited the new fashion of riding side-saddle which she had introduced into England. 1905 Sladen Playing the Game x. 101 The same bench does for natives and foreigners; the natives squat on it or sit on it side-saddle. |
2. attrib., as side-saddle fashion, side-saddle rider, side-saddle riding, side-saddle shoulders.
| 1575 R. B. Appius & Virg. B 3 With bobbing and bum, Our side saddle shoulders shal sheilde that doth come. 1788 Cowper Let. to Rev. J. Newton 19 April, He thenceforth rode behind, in the side-saddle fashion, with both legs on a side, and thus they proceeded till they came near to Oxford. 1893 Mrs. A. M. Hayes (title), The Horsewoman: a Practical Guide to Side-Saddle Riding. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 23 Aug. 8/2, I started in the Haute Ecole, as a side-saddle rider. |
3. side-saddle flower (or plant). a. An American swamp-plant of the genus Sarracenia, the leaves of which retain a considerable quantity of water.
For various explanations of the name see the earlier quots.
| 1738 Phil. Trans. XL. 347 From the Shape of the Flower, they are in Virginia called the Side-saddle-flower. 1822 Hortus Anglicus II. 19 Sarracenia Flava. Yellow Side-saddle Flower... S. Purpurea. Purple Side-saddle Flower... The name is derived from the fancied resemblance of the stigma to a pillion. 1845–50 A. H. Lincoln Lect. Bot. xxxi. 169 This plant is found in swamps; its common name, Side-saddle flower, is given in reference to the form of its leaf. 1861 Bentley Man. Bot. 182 They may be seen in the Pitcher plants,..in the Side-saddle plant.., and in many others. 1884 Harper's Mag. Nov. 840/2 The small plants called the American ‘side-saddle flowers’ (Sarracenia). |
b. The plant Darlingtonia californica.
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 384/1 The only species,..known as the Californian Side-saddle flower or Pitcher-plant, is a perennial herb growing in marshy places. |
Hence ˈside-saddle v.
| 1778 Tickell Prol. to Camp, Side-saddle my horse! ah, lace my stays! 1892 A. E. Lee Hist. Columbus I. 371 So numerous were the animals, saddled, and ‘sidesaddled’,..that they were commonly spoken of as ‘the cavalry’. |