Hough

//hɑk// name, noun, verb

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    A village and former civil parish, now in Hough and Chorlton parish, south of Crewe, Cheshire East district, Cheshire, England (OS grid ref SJ7150).
  3. 3
    A hamlet in Alderley Edge parish, Cheshire East district, Cheshire (OS grid ref SJ8578).
  4. 4
    A settlement on the island of Tiree, Argyll and Bute council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NL9545).
  5. 5
    A neighbourhood of Cleveland, Ohio, United States.
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  1. 6
    An unincorporated community in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States.
Noun
  1. 1
    Alternative form of hock (“the hollow behind the knee”). alt-of, alternative

    "In the bright light, lightened and cooled in limb, he eyed carefully his black trousers, the ends, the knees, the houghs of the knees."

  2. 2
    Obsolete spelling of hoe. alt-of, obsolete
  3. 3
    Alternative form of hoe. alt-of, alternative
  4. 4
    Alternative form of hock (“tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped”). alt-of, alternative
Verb
  1. 1
    Alternative form of hock (“to hamstring”). alt-of, alternative

    "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."

  2. 2
    Archaic spelling of hoe. alt-of, archaic

    "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."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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 The regular modern English development would be /hʌf/, /haʊ/; this has been replaced by /hɒk/, originating in the compound huxen (also *hoxen), from Old English hōhsinu.

Etymology 2

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 The regular modern English development would be /hʌf/, /haʊ/; this has been replaced by /hɒk/, originating in the compound huxen (also *hoxen), from Old English hōhsinu.

Etymology 3

See hoe (“agricultural tool”).

Etymology 4

See hoe (“agricultural tool”).

Etymology 5

From Middle English ho, howe, hogh, from Old English hōh (“a promontory”).

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