Find the word definition

Crossword clues for hackneys

hackneys
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Hackneys

Hackney \Hack"ney\ (-n[y^]), n.; pl. Hackneys (-n[i^]z). [OE. hakeney, hakenay; cf. F. haguen['e]e a pacing horse, an ambling nag, OF. also haquen['e]e, Sp. hacanea, OSp. facanea, D. hakkenei, also OF. haque horse, Sp. haca, OSp. faca; perh. akin to E. hack to cut, and nag, and orig. meaning, a jolting horse. Cf. Hack a horse, Nag.]

  1. A horse for riding or driving; a nag; a pony.
    --Chaucer.

  2. A horse or pony kept for hire.

  3. A carriage kept for hire; a hack; a hackney coach.

  4. A hired drudge; a hireling; a prostitute.

Wiktionary
hackneys

n. (plural of hackney English) vb. (en-third-person singular of: hackney)

Usage examples of "hackneys".

Carriages, sulkies, gigs, hackneys, carts, drays, wagons and horse-drawn omnibuses thronged the narrow streets, lined first with ordinary buildings, but then with shops rendered alien by awnings that jutted to the edge of the pavement.

A thousand hackneys plied the streets, and innumerable sedan chairs, each propelled by four strong men, usually Irish, who could shout and muscle their way through traffic faster than the hackneys.

Then the king, Sir Launcelot, Sir Tristram, and Sir Dinadan, took their hackneys, and rode straight after the good knight, Sir Lamorak de Galis, and there found him.

When King Arthur and the two kings saw them begin to wax wroth on both parties, they leapt on small hackneys, and let cry that all men should depart unto their lodging.