A wild or partly tamed horse, especially one that bucks and tries to throw off riders.
Short for 'bronco,' from Spanish 'bronco' meaning rough or wild. The Spanish word likely comes from Vulgar Latin 'bruncus.' It entered English during the American frontier era when wild horses were common in the West.
The word 'bronc' became iconic in American rodeo culture, but its Spanish roots remind us that much of American frontier vocabulary came from Spanish settlers who had centuries of experience with wild horses in Mexico and the American Southwest.
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