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Hover
Definitions
- 1 A surname.
- 1 An act, or the state, of remaining stationary in the air or some other place.
- 2 A flock of birds fluttering in the air in one place.
- 3 An act, or the state, of being suspended; a suspension. figuratively
- 4 A cover; a protection; a shelter; specifically, an overhanging bank or stone under which fish can shelter; also, a shelter for hens brooding their eggs. Southern-England
"Oyſters grevv vpon boughs of trees (an Indian miracle) vvhich vvere caſt in [the pond] thither, to ſerue as a houer for the fiſh."
- 1 To keep (something, such as an aircraft) in a stationary state in the air. transitive
- 2 hang in the air; fly or be suspended above wordnet
- 3 Of a bird: to shelter (chicks) under its body and wings; (by extension) of a thing: to cover or surround (something). transitive
"Castration has a ſtrange effect: it emaſculates both man, beaſt, and bird, and brings them to a near reſemblance of the other ſex. […] Capons have ſmall combs and gills, and look pallid about the head, like pullets; they alſo vvalk vvithout any parade, and hover chickens like hens."
- 4 be suspended in the air, as if in defiance of gravity wordnet
- 5 Of a bird or insect: to flap (its wings) so it can remain stationary in the air. obsolete, transitive
"O'er the deer Corps ſomtimes her vvings ſhe [an eagle] hovers, / Somtimes the dead breſt vvith her breſt ſhe covers, […]"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 to hang about in a place beyond the proper or usual time wordnet
- 7 To remain stationary or float in the air. intransitive
"The hummingbird hovered by the plant."
- 8 be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action wordnet
- 9 Sometimes followed by over: to hang around or linger in a place, especially in an uncertain manner. figuratively, intransitive
"His pen hovered above the paper."
- 10 hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing wordnet
- 11 To be indecisive or uncertain; to vacillate, to waver. figuratively, intransitive
"Filling in the voting form, I hovered between Labour and Liberal Democrat."
- 12 Chiefly followed by over: to use a mouse or other device to place a cursor over something on a screen such as a hyperlink or icon without clicking, so as to produce a result (such as the appearance of a tooltip). intransitive
"A tooltip appears when you hover over this link."
- 13 To travel in a hovercraft as it moves above a water surface. intransitive
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English hoveren (“to float in the air, hover; to stay”), probably from hoven (“hover; of a bird: to fly high in the air, soar”) (which it displaced) + -er- (frequentative suffix). Hoven is probably derived from Old English *hōfian, from hōfon, the plural past indicative form of hebban (“to lift, raise”), from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to lift; to heave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- (“to hold, seize”). The English word is analysable as hove (“(obsolete) to remain suspended, float, hover; to linger, wait”) + -er (frequentative suffix). The noun is derived from the verb.
The verb is derived from Middle English hoveren (“to float in the air, hover; to stay”), probably from hoven (“hover; of a bird: to fly high in the air, soar”) (which it displaced) + -er- (frequentative suffix). Hoven is probably derived from Old English *hōfian, from hōfon, the plural past indicative form of hebban (“to lift, raise”), from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to lift; to heave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- (“to hold, seize”). The English word is analysable as hove (“(obsolete) to remain suspended, float, hover; to linger, wait”) + -er (frequentative suffix). The noun is derived from the verb.
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