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hough

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hough¹

  • /hɒk/ UK
  • /hɑk/ US
  • /hʌf/ obsolete

Sounds like hock · Rhymes with -ɒk

Where it comes from

From Middle English hough, houȝ, hoch, howghe, from Old English hōh (“heel, hough”), from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄h, from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (“heel”). Doublet of hoo.

The regular modern English development would be /hʌf/, /haʊ/; this has been replaced by /hɒk/, originating in the compound huxen (also *hoxen), from Old English hōhsinu.

noun houghs

  1. alternative Alternative form of hock (“the hollow behind the knee”). In the bright light, lightened and cooled in limb, he eyed carefully his black trousers, the ends, the knees, the houghs of the knees.
  2. alternative Alternative form of hock (“tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped”).

verb houghs · houghing · houghed

  1. alternative Alternative form of hock (“to hamstring”). Far and wide the farms were burnt over their owners’ heads, the growing crops upon the ground; the horses were houghed, the cattle driven off; while of human death and misery there was no end.

    Similar: hamstring, hock, hox

hough²

Where it comes from

See hoe (“agricultural tool”).

noun houghs

  1. obsolete Obsolete spelling of hoe

verb houghs · houghing · houghed

  1. archaic Archaic spelling of hoe 1748, James Thomson, The Castle of Indolence, K:LV Better the toiling Swain, oh happier far! Perhaps the happieſt of the Sons of Men! Who vigorous plies the Plough, the Team, or Car; Who houghs the Field, or ditches in the Glen, Delves in his Garden, or ſecures his Pen.

hough³

Where it comes from

From Middle English ho, howe, hogh, from Old English hōh (“a promontory”).

noun houghs

  1. alternative Alternative form of hoe

Hough⁴

  • /hʌf/ US, UK
  • /hɐf/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /hʊf/ Northern England

Rhymes with -ʌf

Where it comes from

* English surname, from Old English hōh (“spur of land”). Compare Howe, Howes.

* As an Irish surname, variant of Haugh.

proper noun

  1. A surname.
  2. A village and former civil parish, now in Hough and Chorlton parish, south of Crewe, Cheshire East district, Cheshire, England (OS grid ref SJ7150).
  3. A hamlet in Alderley Edge parish, Cheshire East district, Cheshire (OS grid ref SJ8578).
  4. A settlement on the island of Tiree, Argyll and Bute council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NL9545).
  5. A neighbourhood of Cleveland, Ohio, United States.
  6. An unincorporated community in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: hougham, hoadley, hovey, hoag, houck, howington, houghtaling, haugh, hovde, hoagwood, hodgens, houff, hougland, houge, hooley, hoyle

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX
@misc{hough_2026,
  title = {hough},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hough},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}