thoroughbred 復習

何か欲しいものがあるとき、馬はどのような行動を見せるのかという研究についてです。

Study: Horses evolved to learn how to ask for human help

In its 6,000 years of domestication, horses have learned to ask for human help in time of need, a study has shown.

Spearheaded by Shinya Yamamoto, an associate professor of comparative cognition at Kobe University, the research project was conducted to see what sort of behaviors horses display when they need something. Scientists already know that horses understand human expressions, and that they distinguish individual humans through voices and appearances.

Despite the reputation of being intelligent animals that can read human minds, the scientific community has rarely tested such abilities of horses, unlike dogs.

The latest study was conducted on eight thoroughbreds with the school’s Horse Riding Club and assisted by students.

以下省略

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201612160070.html

今回取り上げるのはthoroughbred /ˈθʌrəbred / です。『ライトハウス英和辞典』（第5版　研究社）で調べると、名詞では「純血種の馬、サラブレッド」、形容詞では「（馬、犬などが）純血種の」とありました。LDOCEには “a horse that has parents of the same very good breed” や “especially British English someone who seems to do something naturally to a very high standard” と定義されており、イギリス英語では人に対しても用いるようです。
語源をOnline Etymology Dictionaryで調べてみると、 “"thoroughly accomplished," from thorough + past tense of breed”とあり、「完璧な」や「徹底的な」という意味のthoroughとbreedの過去形であるbredが合わさってできた語であることがわかりました。（aqua）