ˈhorse-box
1. A closed carriage or vehicle for transporting horses by railway; an enclosure for a horse to be slung into or conveyed in a vessel.
| 1846 [see box n.1 12]. 1849 Sir F. B. Head Stokers & Pokers iii. (1851) 41 Embarking in carriages, horse-boxes, and trucks. Mod. Railw. Time Table, Horse Boxes and Carriage Trucks are not conveyed by these Trains. |
2. Humorously applied to large pews with high sides, formerly common, esp. in country churches.
| 1884 Sat. Rev. 16 Aug., The interior is encumbered with huge horse-boxes, lined with mangy baize. 1891 P. G. Stone Archit. Antiq. Isle Wight 6 In 1744 the pewing was re-arranged..on the ‘horse-box’ principle. |