hough
English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle English hough, houȝ, hoch, howghe, from Old English hōh (“heel, hough”), from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (“heel”). Doublet of hoo.
The regular modern English development would be /hʌf/, /haʊ/; this has been replaced by /hɒk/, originating in the compound huxen (also *hoxen), from Old English hōhsinu.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
hough (plural houghs)
- Alternative form of hock (“the hollow behind the knee”)
- 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:
- In the bright light, lightened and cooled in limb, he eyed carefully his black trousers, the ends, the knees, the houghs of the knees.
- Alternative form of hock (“tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped”)
Verb edit
hough (third-person singular simple present houghs, present participle houghing, simple past and past participle houghed)
- Alternative form of hock (“to hamstring”)
- 1866, Charles Kingsley, chapter 25, in Hereward the Wake, London: Nelson, page 337:
- Far and wide the farms were burnt over their owners’ heads, the growing crops upon the ground; the horses were houghed, the cattle driven off; while of human death and misery there was no end.
Synonyms edit
Hypernyms edit
Derived terms edit
References edit
- ^ Meredith, L. P. (1872) “Hough”, in Every-Day Errors of Speech[1], Philadelphia: J.P. Lippincott & Co., page 25.
Etymology 2 edit
See hoe (“agricultural tool”).
Pronunciation edit
As hoe.
Noun edit
hough (plural houghs)
Verb edit
hough (third-person singular simple present houghs, present participle houghing, simple past and past participle houghed)
- Archaic spelling of hoe.
- 1748, James Thomson, The Castle of Indolence, K:LV
- Better the toiling Swain, oh happier far!
- Perhaps the happieſt of the Sons of Men!
- Who vigorous plies the Plough, the Team, or Car;
- Who houghs the Field, or ditches in the Glen,
- Delves in his Garden, or ſecures his Pen.
- 1748, James Thomson, The Castle of Indolence, K:LV
Etymology 3 edit
From Middle English ho, howe, hogh, from Old English hōh (“a promontory”).
Noun edit
hough (plural houghs)
- Alternative form of hoe
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Old English hōh (“heel”), from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄h, from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz. Compare hele (“heel”).
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
- (regular development) IPA(key): /huːx/
- (from inflected forms) IPA(key): /hoː/
- (generalised from Old English hōhsinu) IPA(key): /hɔx/, /hɔk/
Noun edit
hough (plural houghes)
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
References edit
- “hough, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2 edit
From Old English hōh (“promontory”), related to hōn (“to hang”). Reinforced by unrelated Old Norse haugr (“hill, mound”).
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
hough
Descendants edit
References edit
- “hough, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.