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hock1 definition

hock (häk)

noun

  1. the joint bending backward in the hind leg of a horse, ox, etc., corresponding to the human ankle
  2. the corresponding joint in the leg of a fowl

Etymology: S Brit var. of Scot hough < ME hoh, heel < OE < Gmc *hanha, heel, with loss of nasal as in soft, tooth

transitive verb

to disable by cutting the tendons of the hock
hock2 definition

hock (häk)

noun

Chiefly Brit. any white Rhine wine, orig. that from Hochheim, Germany

Etymology: contr. of hockamore, altered < Ger Hochheimer

hock3 definition

☆ hock (häk)

transitive verb, noun

Slang pawn

Etymology: < Du hok, kennel, cage, prison

hock Idioms

in hock

Slang
  1. in (or out of) pawn
  2. in (or out of) debt

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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