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hackney

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Hackney¹

  • /hækni/ UK

Where it comes from

The senses "a horse" and "(a means of transport) available for hire" derive from the fact that many horses were kept for hire in the London borough of Hackney.

The place name is from Old English *Hacan īeġ "Hacan's Isle" (or "Hook's Island"), referring to dry land in a marsh.

proper noun

  1. A London borough in Greater London, England, where once upon a time many horses were pastured.
  2. A town in eastern London, England, within this borough (OS grid ref TQ3584).
  3. An English habitational surname from Old English.
  4. One of several breeds of compact English horses: see hackney
  5. in compounds (means of transportation): see hackney.

hackney²

  • /ˈhækni/ US, UK

Rhymes with -ækni

Where it comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English hakeney (“small horse, often hired out”), probably from Hakeneia, Hakeneye (“Hackney, formerly a village in Middlesex and now a borough of London, England, in the United Kingdom”) (as the surrounding meadows were used for grazing horses before sale; whence Old French haquenée (“ambling mare for ladies”), Latinized in England to hakeneius), from Old English *Hacan īeġ (“Haca’s Island”, literally “Hook’s Island”).

The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.

noun hackneys

  1. archaic, countable, historical A horse suitable for riding; specifically, a strong medium-sized horse with a high-stepping trot, often used in harness competitions; also, such horses collectively as a breed.
  2. broadly, countable, historical, uncountable A horse which is hired out.

    Similar: hireling

  3. broadly, countable, historical, uncountable In full hackney carriage, hackney coach: a horse-drawn carriage which is hired out. "Mamma would die if she knew. The boy," replied Georgiana, "walked with us to Oxford Street, and we took a hackney-coach. Will Mrs. Gooch ever forgive us for getting out of it at her door?"
  4. archaic, figuratively, uncountable Writing which is dull or follows a predictable formula, produced so the writer can be paid rather than as a creative work; literary hackwork. Not that the existence of Grub street is to be doubted: it was, indeed, a grim actuality, and many a garreter realised by experience / How unhappy's the fate / To live by one's pate / And to be forced to write hackney for bread.
  5. countable, figuratively, obsolete, uncountable A person who does menial work; a drudge, a hireling, a lackey.
  6. countable, figuratively, obsolete, uncountable A person or thing that is exploited.
  7. countable, derogatory, figuratively, obsolete, uncountable A prostitute.

    Similar: abandons, alley cat, almah, bangtail, Bankside lady, bargirl, bat, beotch, blouze, blowen, blowsabella, brass nail

adjective

  1. archaic, not comparable Synonym of hackneyed (“of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often”). hackney authors

    Similar: clichéd, tired, trite, banal, bathetic, bromidic, cheesy, stock, commonplace, corny, dog-eared, hackneyed

  2. not comparable, obsolete Commonplace, usual; also, frequent.

verb hackneys · hackneying · hackneyed

  1. figuratively, transitive To make (something) uninteresting and unoriginal through frequent repetition; to make (something) trite.
  2. obsolete, transitive To use (a horse) for ordinary riding.
  3. obsolete, rare, transitive To transport (someone) on an ordinary riding horse.
  4. obsolete, rare, transitive To transport (someone) in a hackney carriage; also (followed by the dummy pronoun it), to ride in or on a hackney carriage. […] To her, who, frugal only that her thrift / May feed excesses she can ill afford, / Is hackneyed home unlackeyed; […]
  5. figuratively, obsolete, transitive To cause (someone, or their mind, etc.) to be less refined or sensitive; to blunt, to coarsen.
  6. figuratively, obsolete, transitive To give or offer (something) for money; also (also reflexive), to hire (oneself, or something) out for money.
  7. figuratively, obsolete, transitive To prostitute (someone).
  8. figuratively, obsolete, transitive To hurry or rush (someone or something).
  9. figuratively, obsolete, transitive To treat or use (a person) as a menial worker.
  10. derogatory, figuratively, obsolete, transitive Followed by in: of a person: to be made experienced or used to (something); to become accustomed or habituated.
  11. intransitive, obsolete To use a horse for ordinary riding.
  12. intransitive, obsolete Followed by at: of a person or thing: to be hurried or rushed towards something.
  13. intransitive, obsolete To treat or use a person as a menial worker.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: hackney coach, coachmen, hackney downs, haggerston, homerton, hoxton, haringey, tower hamlets, london fields, hounslow, hornsey, newham, hackney bottom, havering, barnet, lambeth

Translations

Every language

noun horse suitable for riding

Françaishaquenée

noun strong medium-sized horse with a high-stepping trot; such horses collectively as a breed

Françaishackney

verb to make (something) uninteresting or unoriginal through frequent repetition

日本語使い古す tsukaifurusu

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Cite this
MLA

"hackney." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hackney. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

hackney. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hackney

Chicago

"hackney." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hackney.

BibTeX
@misc{hackney_2026,
  title = {hackney},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hackney},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}