English word origin

Etymology of hough

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

Alternative form of hock (“to hamstring”).

noun

Alternative form of hock (“the hollow behind the knee”). · Alternative form of hock (“tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English hough, houȝ, hoch, howghe, from Old English hōh (“heel, hough”), from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄h, 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 The regular modern English development would be /hʌf/, /haʊ/; this has been replaced by /hɒk/, originating in the compound huxen (also *hoxen), from Old English hōhsinu.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionhoughenm
Inherited-form mentionhōhang · heel, hough
Inherited-form mention*hą̄hgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*hanhazgem-pro · heel
Doublet mentionhooen
Cognate mentionhōhsinuang

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "hough",
        "id": "hough"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English hough"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
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        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hōh",
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      },
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    },
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    },
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    },
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        "2": "hoo"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "2": "hōhsinu"
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    }
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  "links": [
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      "hough#Middle_English:_hough"
    ],
    [
      "houȝ",
      "houȝ#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "hoch",
      "hoch#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "howghe",
      "howghe#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "hōh",
      "hoh#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*hą̄h",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hą̄h"
    ],
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      "*hanhaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hanhaz"
    ],
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      "hoo",
      "hoo#English"
    ],
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      "huxen#English"
    ],
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      "hohsinu#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
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        "Alternative form of hock (“to hamstring”)."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Obsolete spelling of hoe.

verb

Archaic spelling of hoe.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

See hoe (“agricultural tool”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

Alternative form of hoe.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionhoenm
Inherited-form mentionhōhang · a promontory

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hōh",
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      },
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for hough →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-aG91Z2g