hedge

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A row of bushes or small trees that forms a boundary or fence.

   He trims the hedge in his garden once a week.

2. 2
   verb

   To protect yourself against loss or risk, especially with money.

   Investors often hedge against falling prices by spreading their money.

3. 3
   noun

   An arrangement made to reduce the risk of losing money.

   Gold can act as a hedge when stock prices fall.

4. 4
   noun

   A vague or careful statement that avoids giving a clear answer.

   His reply was full of hedges and gave no real promise.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Hedge is an Old English word. Because hedges mark boundaries and provide protection, the word developed uses involving protection against risk. The late-17th-century phrase hedge your bets means, in strict betting terms, putting money on more than one horse. The earlier expression was hedge in a bet, related to a use of hedge in for incorporating debts into a larger debt with better security. Hedge fund arose in the 1960s for an offshore investment fund that speculates using credit or borrowed capital.

From Middle English hegge, from Old English heċġ, from Proto-West Germanic *haggju, from Proto-Germanic *hagjō, from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”). Cognate with Dutch heg, German Hecke. Doublet of hey (a choreographic figure) and quay. More at haw.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary