▪ The term ḫayl for ‘horses’ is an Ar idiosyncrasy. But, as Kogan2011 (#5.1.3.2) states, there is also »no deeply rooted common term for ‘horse’« in Sem. (For other terms, cf. ↗ḥiṣān, ↗faras, EgAr ↗sīsī.) ḫayl may belong to the complex of *ʻpower, strength, might’ (↗√ḤW/YL, with ḫ in ḫ from *ḥ); thus, it may originally be *ʻthe powerful one’. ▪ …
▪ The Ar term ḫayl for ʻhorses’ stands isolated within Sem (Jib aḫyel ‘faire galoper’ could be an Arabism). Given that it cannot be connected to other items of ↗√ḪYL or ↗√ḪWL, it may be true what earlier research often suggested,1
, namely that it belongs to the complex of *ʻpower, strength, might’ (cf. DRS #ḪYL-5 in section COGN, above), otherwise realised in Ar by ↗√ḤW/YL (< protSem *ḥayl‑/*ḫayl‑ ‘strength’ – Kogan2015: 118 #12), rather than to √ḪYL or √ḪWL.2 ▪ … ▪ …
►sabāq al-ḫayl, n., horse racing, horse race►ḫayyala, vb. II, to gallop (on horseback): D-stem, denom. ►ḫayyāl, pl. -aẗ, ‑ūn, n., horseman, rider: ints. formation / n.prof. ►ḫayyālaẗ, n.f., cavalry (Ir.; Eg. 1939) | sariyyaẗ ḫayyālaẗ, n.f., cavalry squadron (Eg. 1939)For other values of the root, cf. ↗ḫāla and ↗ʔaḫyal as well as, for the whole picture, root entries ↗√ḪYL and √ḪWL.