hoist

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English

Etymology

Alteration of hoise, apparently based on the past tense and participle. Confer Danish hisse, German hissen, Italian issare (loaned from a Germanic source).

Pronunciation

Verb

hoist (third-person singular simple present hoists, present participle hoisting, simple past and past participle hoisted or hoist)

  1. (transitive) To raise; to lift; to elevate; especially, to raise or lift to a desired elevation, by means of tackle or pulley, as a sail, a flag, a heavy package or weight.
    • 1719: Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
      ...but this last was so heavy, I could not hoist it up to get it over the ship's side.
    • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
      Between us, with much trouble, we managed to hoist him upstairs, and laid him on his bed, where his head fell back on the pillow, as if he were almost fainting.
    • 2011 October 23, Tom Fordyce, “2011 Rugby World Cup final: New Zealand 8-7 France”, BBC Sport:
      And when skipper Richie McCaw hoisted the Webb Ellis Trophy high into the night, a quarter of a century of hurt was blown away in an explosion of fireworks and cheering.
  2. (transitive, historical) To lift someone up to be flogged.
  3. (intransitive) To be lifted up.

Usage notes

  • "Hoisted" is about fifteen times more common than "hoist" in US usage as past and past participle.

Quotations

Translations

transitive: to raise; to lift; to elevate
transitive: to lift someone up to be flogged
intransitive: to be lifted up
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Noun

hoist (plural hoists)

  1. A hoisting device, such as pulley or crane.
  2. The act of hoisting; a lift.
    Give me a hoist over that wall.
  3. The perpendicular height of a flag, as opposed to the fly, or horizontal length, when flying from a staff.
  4. The vertical edge of a flag which is next to the staff.
  5. The height of a fore-and-aft sail, next the mast or stay.

Translations

hoisting device
perpendicular height of a flag
vertical edge of a flag which is next to the staff
height of a fore-and-aft sail, next the mast or stay
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Last modified on 12 May 2013, at 19:55