*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of hock

Clipping of hockamore, from German.

6 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 6 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 ↗
noun

A Rhenish wine, of a light yellow color, either sparkling or still, from the Hochheim region; often applied to all Rhenish wines.

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

Clipping of hockamore, from German.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

The tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped, such as a horse, pig or dog. · Meat from that part of a food animal. · The hollow behind the knee.

verb

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

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

From Middle English hough, hoche, hokke, from Old English hōh, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄h, from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kenk-. See also West Frisian hakke, Dutch hak, German Low German Hacke, Hack (“heel”); also Lithuanian ki̇̀nka (“leg, thigh, knee-cap”), kenklė̃ (“knee-cap”), Sanskrit कङ्काल (kaṅkāla, “skeleton”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

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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    ],
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    ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
verb

To leave with a pawnbroker as security for a loan.

noun

Pawn, obligation as collateral for a loan. · Debt. · Installment purchase. · Prison.

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

From the phrase in hock, circa 1855-60, from Dutch hok (“hutch, hovel, jail, pen, doghouse”). Compare also Middle English hukken (“to sell; peddle; sell at auction”), see huck.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Derivation mentionhoknl · hutch, hovel, jail, pen, doghouse
  • Cognate mentionhukkenenm · to sell; peddle; sell at auction
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
verb

To bother; to pester; to annoy incessantly.

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

From Yiddish האַק (hak), imperative singular form of האַקן (hakn, “to knock”), from the idiomatic expression האַק מיר נישט קיין טשײַניק (hak mir nisht keyn tshaynik, “don't knock a teakettle at me”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗
verb

Alternative form of hawk (“cough, clear one's throat of phlegm”).

noun

Alternative form of hawk (“cough”).

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

Probably imitative (a variant form of hawk (“cough”)), like hack (“cough”), although see that entry for more.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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Source etymology 6

Original entry ↗
noun

The last card turned up in the game of faro.

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

No narrative was extracted for this section. Available source templates and references appear below; no ancestor chain has been invented to fill the gap.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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 hock →

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
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Import run
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Permanent entry ID
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