verb
hawked, hawk·ing, hawks verb
intransitiveTo peddle goods aggressively, especially by calling out.
verb
transitiveTo peddle (goods) aggressively, especially by calling out.
Origin of hawk
Middle English
hauken back-formation from hauker ; see
hawker .
verb
hawked, hawk·ing, hawks verb
intransitiveTo clear or attempt to clear the throat by or as if by coughing up phlegm.
verb
transitiveTo clear the throat of (phlegm).
noun
An audible effort to clear the throat by expelling phlegm.
Origin of hawk
Imitative
Noun (plural hawks)
- A diurnal predatory bird of the family Accipitridae.
- It is illegal to hunt hawks or other raptors in many parts of the world.
- (politics) An advocate of aggressive political positions and actions; a warmonger.
Verb (third-person singular simple present hawks, present participle hawking, simple past and past participle hawked)
- To hunt with a hawk.
- (intransitive) To make an attack while on the wing; to soar and strike like a hawk.
- to hawk at flies
Origin Middle English hauk, from Old English hafoc, from Proto-Germanic *habukaz (compare West Frisian hauk, Dutch havik, German Habicht), from Proto-Indo-European *kobuĝo (compare Latin capys, capus 'bird of prey', Albanian gabonjë, shkabë 'eagle', Russian кобец (kóbec) 'falcon', Polish kobuz 'Eurasian Hobby').
Noun (plural hawks)
- A plasterer's tool, made of a flat surface with a handle below, used to hold an amount of plaster prior to application to the wall or ceiling being worked on: a mortarboard.
Origin Uncertain origin; perhaps from Middle English hache (“battle-axe”), or from a variant use of the above.
Verb (third-person singular simple present hawks, present participle hawking, simple past and past participle hawked)
- To sell; to offer for sale by outcry in the street; to carry (merchandise) about from place to place for sale; to peddle.
- The vendors were hawking their wares from little tables lining either side of the market square.
Origin Back-formation from hawker.
Noun (plural hawks)
- An effort to force up phlegm from the throat, accompanied with noise.
Verb (third-person singular simple present hawks, present participle hawking, simple past and past participle hawked)
- (intransitive) To cough up something from one's throat.
- (intransitive) To try to cough up something from one's throat; to clear the throat loudly.
- Grandpa sat on the front porch, hawking and wheezing, as he packed his pipe with cheap tobacco.
