Hone
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hone¹
- /hoʊn/ US
- /həʊn/ UK
Rhymes with -əʊn
Where it comes from
From Middle English hon (“whetstone”), from Old English hān, from Proto-Germanic *hainō (compare Dutch heen, Norwegian hein), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱeh₃i- (“to sharpen”) (compare Ancient Greek κῶνος (kônos, “cone”), Persian سان (sân, “whetstone”)).
noun hones
- A sharpening stone composed of extra-fine grit used for removing the burr or curl from the blade of a razor or some other edge tool.
- A machine tool used in the manufacture of precision bores.
verb hones · honing · honed
- To sharpen with a hone; to whet.
- To use a hone to produce a precision bore.
- To refine (a skill especially) by learning. He also honed the procedure known as cut and fill - whereby the spoil from railway cuttings was used to build up embankments.
- To make more acute, intense, or effective.
hone²
- /hoʊn/ US
- /həʊn/ UK
Rhymes with -əʊn
Where it comes from
Cognate with Icelandic hnúður. Distantly related to knot.
noun hones
- A kind of swelling in the cheek.
hone³
- /hoʊn/ US
- /həʊn/ UK
Rhymes with -əʊn
Where it comes from
French hogner (“to grumble”), which could be a cross of honnir (“to disgrace, shame”) and grogner (“to grunt”).
verb hones · honing · honed
- To grumble. Such tunges ſhuld be torne out by the harde rootes,
- To pine, lament, or long. He lies pitying himself, honing and moaning to himself
hone⁴
- /hoʊn/ US
- /həʊn/ UK
Rhymes with -əʊn
interjection
- Synonym of alas Used to express sorrow, or grief Oh, hone! oh, hone! miserable wretch that I am! Do ye mak confession for me, Sir, and I'll say 't after you, as weel as I dow. Oh, hone! oh, hone!
Hone⁵
proper noun
- A surname.
