Hound
Pronunciation
- IPA: /haÊŠnd/
- Rhymes: -aÊŠnd
Origin
From Middle English honde, from Old English hund, from Proto-Germanic *hundaz (confer West Frisian hûn, Dutch hond, German Hund, Danish hund, Swedish hund), from pre-Germanic *ḱu̯n̥-tós, *ḱwn̥tós (cf. Latvian sùnt-ene ("big dog")), enlargement of Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ ("dog") (cf. Welsh cwn ("dogs"), Tocharian AB ku, Lithuanian šuõ), Armenian շուն.
Full definition of hound
Noun
hound
(plural hounds)- A dog, particularly a breed with a good sense of smell developed for hunting other animals. (hunt hound, hunting hound, hunting dog, hunter)
- (by extension) Someone who seeks something.
- 1996, Marc Parent, Turning Stones, Harcourt Brace & Company, ISBN 0151002045, page 93,On the way out of the building I was asked for my autograph. If I'd known who the signature hound thought I was, I would've signed appropriately.
- 2004, Jodi Picoult, , , ISBN 0743486196, page 483,I still do not know if he's taken on this case because he's a glory hound, because he wants the PR, or if he simply wanted to help Anna.
- (by extension) A male who constantly seeks the company of receptive females.
- 1915, Norman Duncan, "A Certain Recipient", in , volume 122, number 787, December 1915, republished in Harper's Monthly Magazine, volume 122, December 1915 to May 1916, page 108,"Are you alone, Goodson? ... I thought, perhaps, that the ... young woman, Goodson, who supplanted Mary?"..."She had a good many successors, John.""You are such a hound, in that respect, Goodson," said Claywell, "and you have always been such a hound, that it astounds me to find you—unaccompanied."
- A despicable person.
- ShakespeareBoy! false hound!
- Elizabeth Walter, Come and Get Me'You blackmailing hound,' the parrot said distinctly, in what Hodges recognized as General Derby's voice. Anstruther turned pale.
- A houndfish.
- (nautical, in the plural) Projections at the masthead, serving as a support for the trestletrees and top to rest on.
- A side bar used to strengthen portions of the running gear of a vehicle.In more recent times, hound has been replaced by dog but the sense remains the same.
Derived terms
Verb
- (transitive) To persistently harass.He hounded me for weeks, but I was simply unable to pay back his loan.