hock

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the joint in the hind leg of a horse or other hoofed animal between the knee and the fetlock

   The veterinarian examined the swelling around the horse's left hock.

2. 2
   verb

   to leave an object with a pawnbroker as security for a loan

   He had to hock his watch to pay the overdue bill.

The anatomical noun descends through Middle English hough or hoche from Old English hoh, 'heel or projecting joint.' The pawnshop verb is historically separate, probably from Dutch hok, 'pen or prison.' A third noun for Rhine wine is shortened from Hochheim, a German wine town.

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