What is "hock"

Hock \Hock\, v. t.

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

2. To pawn; as, to hock one's jewelry.

Hock \Hock\, n. [So called from Hochheim, in Germany.] A Rhenish wine, of a light yellow color, either sparkling or still. The name is also given indiscriminately to all Rhenish wines.

Hock \Hock\, n.

1. The state of having been pawned; usually preceded by in; as, all her jewelry is in hock.

2. The state of being in debt; as, it took him two years to get out of hock.

Hock \Hock\, Hough \Hough\, n. [ AS. h?h the heel; prob. akin to Icel. h[=a]sinn hock sinew, Dan. hasc, G. hechse, h["a]chse, LG. hacke, D. hak; also to L. coxa hip (cf. Cuisses), Skr. kaksha armpit. [root]12. Cf. Heel.]

1. 1. The joint in the hind limb of quadrupeds between the leg and shank, or tibia and tarsus, and corresponding to the ankle in man.

   2. A piece cut by butchers, esp. in pork, from either the front or hind leg, just above the foot.

2. The popliteal space; the ham.

"joint in the hind leg of a horse," mid-15c., earlier hockshin (late 14c.), from Old English hohsinu "sinew of the heel, Achilles' tendon," literally "heel sinew," from hoh "heel," from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (cognates: German Hachse "hock," Old English hæla "heel"), from PIE *kenk- (3) "heel, bend of the knee."

"Rhenish wine," 1620s, shortening of Hockamore, from German Hochheimer, "(wine) of Hochheim," town on the Main where wine was made; sense extended to German white wines in general.

"pawn, debt," 1859, American English, in hock, which meant both "in debt" and "in prison," from Dutch hok "jail, pen, doghouse, hutch, hovel." The verb is 1878, from the noun.When one gambler is caught by another, smarter than himself, and is beat, then he is in hock. Men are only caught, or put in hock, on the race-tracks, or on the steamboats down South. ... Among thieves a man is in hock when he is in prison. [G.W. Matsell, "Vocabulum," 1859]

Etymology 1 n. A Rhenish wine, of a light yellow color, either sparkling or still, from the Hochheim region, but often applied to all Rhenish wines. Etymology 2

n. 1 The tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped, such as a horse, pig or dog. 2 meat from that part of a food animal. vb. (context transitive English) To disable by cutting the tendons of the hock; to hamstring; to hough. Etymology 3

n. 1 pawn#Noun, obligation as collateral for a loan. 2 debt. 3 installment purchase. 4 prison. vb. (senseid en pawned)(context transitive colloquial English) To leave with a pawnbroker as security for a loan. Etymology 4

alt. (context US English) To bother; to pester; to annoy incessantly vb. (context US English) To bother; to pester; to annoy incessantly

1. n. any of several white wines from the Rhine River valley in Germany (`hock' is British usage) [syn: Rhine wine, Rhenish]

2. tarsal joint of the hind leg of hoofed mammals; corresponds to the human ankle

3. v. leave as a guarantee in return for money; "pawn your grandfather's gold watch" [syn: pawn, soak]

4. disable by cutting the hock

Hock is a British term for German white wine; sometimes it refers to white wine from the Rhine region and sometimes to all German white wine.

It is short for the obsolete word "hockamore", which is an alteration of "Hochheimer", derived from the name of the town of Hochheim am Main in Germany.

The term seems to have been in use in the 17th century, initially for white wines from the middle Rhine, but in the 18th century it came to be used for any German white wine sold in Britain.

It seems probable that Queen Victoria's visit to Hochheim and its vineyards during harvest time in 1850 contributed to the continued use of the word "hock".

Hock may refer to:

Common meanings:

• Hock (wine), a type of wine
• Hock (anatomy), part of an animal's leg
• To leave an item with a pawnbroker

People:

• Hock (surname)
• Richard "Hock" Walsh (1948-1999), Canadian blues singer

Other uses:

• A type of wine bottle used primarily for German or Alsatian wine

Hock is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Adam Hock (born 1964), American businessman
• Christian Hock (born 1970), German footballer and manager
• Dee Hock (born 1929), American businessman
• Gareth Hock (born 1983), English rugby league player
• Hans Henrich Hock (born 1938), American linguist
• Robert Hock (born 1973), German ice hockey player

The hock, or gambrel, is the joint between the tarsal bones and tibia of a digitigrade or unguligrade quadrupedal mammal, such as a horse, cat, or dog. This joint may include articulations between tarsal bones and the fibula in some species (such as cats), while in others the fibula has been greatly reduced and is only found as a vestigial remnant fused to the distal portion of the tibia (as in horses) . It is the anatomical homologue of the ankle of the human foot. While homologous joints occur in other tetrapods, the term is generally restricted to mammals, particularly long-legged domesticated species.