hoof
noun
- horn structure which surrounds the distal phalange in odd-toed ungulates (horses, donkeys and zebras)
verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L331932 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /hʊf/ / /huːf/
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós Proto-Germanic *hōfaz Proto-West Germanic *hōf Old English hōf Middle English hof English hoof Inherited from Middle English hof, houf, houve, hove, from Old English hōf, from Proto-Germanic *hōfaz (compare West Frisian hoef, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Danish hov, Norwegian hov, Swedish hov), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós (compare Sanskrit शफ (śaphá, “hoof, claw”), Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬟𐬀 (safa, “hoof”), possibly Czech, Polish kopyto).
- The tip of a toe of an ungulate such as a horse, ox or deer, strengthened by a thick keratin covering.
“[…] I ſee Th’ Inſulting Tyrant prancing o’er the Field Strow’d with Rome’s Citizens, and drench’d in Slaughter, His Horſe’s Hoofs wet with Patrician Blood.”
- The human foot.
“Get your hooves off me!”
“He is a huge man, six feet four on bare hoofs and composed of two hundred and seventy pounds of solid bone and muscle.”
- An ungula.
- The heel of a loaf of bread.
verb
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós Proto-Germanic *hōfaz Proto-West Germanic *hōf Old English hōf Middle English hof English hoof Inherited from Middle English hof, houf, houve, hove, from Old English hōf, from Proto-Germanic *hōfaz (compare West Frisian hoef, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Danish hov, Norwegian hov, Swedish hov), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós (compare Sanskrit शफ (śaphá, “hoof, claw”), Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬟𐬀 (safa, “hoof”), possibly Czech, Polish kopyto).
- To trample with hooves.
- To walk.
- To dance, especially as a professional.
- To kick, especially to kick a football a long way downfield with little accuracy.