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hock¹

(hŏk)

a. The tarsal joint of the hind leg of certain quadrupeds, such as horses and dogs, corresponding to the human ankle but bending in the opposite direction.

b. A joint in the leg of a domestic fowl similar to the hock of a quadruped.

2. A small cut of meat, especially ham, from the front or hind leg directly above the foot.

tr.v. hocked, hock·ing, hocks

To disable by cutting the tendons of the hock; hamstring.

[Middle English hok, variant (perhaps originally arising in compounds such as hough sineue, hock sinew, Achilles tendon, hamstring, and hokschynes, literally "hock shins," ankles (meaning uncertain)) of hough, heel, hock, from Old English hōh, heel.]

hock³

(hŏk) Slang

tr.v. hocked, hock·ing, hocks

To pawn: hock a diamond ring.

1. The state of being pawned: put the diamonds in hock.

2. The state of being in debt: thought we'd never get out of hock.

[From 19th century American slang in hock, in prison, in debt, from Dutch hok, pen, sty, kennel; akin to Frisian hok, narrow space, and probably of pre-Germanic substrate origin.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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