late 13c., from Old French ostage, hostage "kindness, hospitality; residence, dwelling; rent, tribute; compensation; guarantee, pledge, bail; person given as security or hostage" (11c., Modern French ôtage), which is of uncertain origin. Either from hoste "guest" (see host (n.1)) via notion of "a lodger held by a landlord as security" [Watkins, Barnhart]; or else from Late Latin obsidanus "condition of being held as security," from obses "hostage," from ob- "before" + base of sedere "to sit," with spelling influenced by Latin hostis. [OED, Century Dictionary]. Modern political/terrorism sense is from 1970. ETD hostage (n.).2
early 13c., "inn, house of entertainment," from Old French ostel, hostel "house, home, dwelling; inn, lodgings, shelter" (11c., Modern French hôtel), from Medieval Latin hospitale "inn; large house" (see hospital). Obsolete after 16c., revived 1808, along with hostelry by Sir Walter Scott. Youth hostel is recorded by 1931. ETD hostel (n.).2
late 14c. (as a surname from early 14c.), from Old French ostelerie, hostelerie "house, guest-house; kitchen; hospice, almshouse" (12c., Modern French hôtellerie), from hostel "house, home" (see hostel). Rare in modern English before Scott. Alternative hostry (from Old French hosterie, from hoste) was in use late 14c. through 18c. Tyndale, in Luke ii, has "There was no roome for them with in, in the hostrey" [1526]. ETD hostelry (n.).2
late 13c., "woman who keeps an inn or public hotel," from host (n.1) + -ess, or from Old French ostesse, hostesse "hostess; servant; guest" (Modern French hôtesse). Old French also had ostelaine; the Latin word was hospita. Meaning "woman who presides at a dinner party, etc." recorded by 1822. Also used mid-20c. in sense "female who entertains customers in nightclubs," with overtones of prostitution. ETD hostess (n.).2
late 15c., from French hostile "of or belonging to an enemy" (15c.) or directly from Latin hostilis "of an enemy, belonging to or characteristic of the enemy; inimical," from hostis, in earlier use "a stranger, foreigner," in classical use "an enemy," from PIE root *ghos-ti- "stranger, guest, host." The noun meaning "hostile person" is recorded from 1838, American English, a word from the Indian wars. Related: Hostilely. ETD hostile (adj.).2
early 15c., hostilite, "hostile action," from Old French hostilité "enmity" (15c.), or directly from Late Latin hostilitatem (nominative hostilitas) "enmity," from Latin hostilis "inimical," from hostis, in earlier use "a stranger, foreigner," in classical use "an enemy," from PIE root *ghos-ti- "stranger, guest, host." Hostilities in the sense of "warfare" attested from 1610s. ETD hostility (n.).2
formerly also hosteler, late 14c., "one who tends to horses at an inn," also, occasionally, "innkeeper," from Anglo-French hostiler, Old French ostelier, hostelier "innkeeper; steward in a monastery" (12c., Modern French hôtelier), from Medieval Latin hostilarius "the monk who entertains guests at a monastery," from hospitale "inn" (see hospital). Compare ostler. ETD hostler (n.).2
Old English hat "hot, flaming, opposite of cold," used of the sun or air, of fire, of objects made hot; also "fervent, fierce, intense, excited," from Proto-Germanic *haita- (source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian het, Old Norse heitr, Middle Dutch and Dutch heet, German heiß "hot," Gothic heito "heat of a fever"), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Lithuanian kaisti "to grow hot;" both could be from a substratum word. ETD hot (adj.).2
With a long vowel in Middle English (rhyming with boat, wrote) which shortened in modern English, perhaps from influence of comparative hotter. As an adverb, Old English hote. ETD hot (adj.).3
Hot as "full of sexual desire, lustful" is from c. 1500; the sense of "inciting desire" is 18c. Taste sense of "pungent, acrid, biting" is from 1540s. Sense of "exciting, remarkable, very good" is 1895; that of "stolen" is first recorded 1925 (originally with overtones of "easily identified and difficult to dispose of"); that of "radioactive" is from 1942. Of jazz music or combos from 1924. ETD hot (adj.).4
Hot flashes in the menopausal sense attested from 1887. Hot stuff for anything good or excellent is by 1889, American English. Hot seat is from 1933. Hot potato in figurative sense is from 1846 (from being baked in the fire coals and pulled out hot). Hot cake is from 1680s; to sell like hot cakes is from 1839. ETD hot (adj.).5
The hot and cold in hide-and-seek or guessing games (19c.) are from hunting (1640s), with notion of tracking a scent. Hot and bothered is by 1921. Hot under the collar in the figurative sense is from 1895. ETD hot (adj.).6
1520s, from hot (adj.) + -ness. ETD hotness (n.).2
"unsubstantiated statements, boastful talk," 1900, from hot (adj.) + air (n.1). The adjectival phrase hot-air (of balloons, etc.) is from 1813. ETD hot air (n.).2
also hot-bed, 1620s, "bed of earth heated by fermenting manure for growing early plants," from hot (adj.) + bed (n.). Generalized sense of "place that fosters rapid growth" is from 1768. ETD hotbed (n.).2
"passionate," 1590s; a relic of old medicine and medieval physiology theory; see hot (adj.) + blood (n.). ETD hot-blooded (adj.).2
1878, type of machine gun named for its inventor, U.S. armaments-maker Benjamin B. Hotchkiss (1826-1885). In Japanese, the word for "stapler" is hotchikisu after the E. H. Hotchkiss Company of Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S., early and prominent manufacturer of staplers (incorporated 1895, name from 1897), which apparently was run by relatives of the gun inventor. The surname (attested from late 15c. as Hochekys) is a variant of Hodgkin. ETD Hotchkiss (n.).2
see hodgepodge. ETD hotch-potch.2
also hotdog, "sausage on a split roll," c. 1890, American English, from hot (adj.) + dog (n.). Many early references are in college student publications; later popularized, but probably not coined, by cartoonist T.A. "Tad" Dorgan (1877-1929). It is said in early explanations to echo a suspicion (occasionally justified) that sausages contained dog meat. ETD hot dog (n.).2
Meaning "someone particularly skilled or excellent" (with overtones of showing off) is from 1896. Connection between the two senses, if any, is unclear. Hot dog! as an exclamation of approval was in use by 1906. ETD hot dog (n.).3
Related: Hot-dogger; hot-dogging. ETD hot dog (n.).4
1640s, "public official residence; large private residence," from French hôtel "a mansion, palace, large house," from Old French ostel, hostel "a lodging" (see hostel). The sense of "an inn of the better sort" is recorded from 1765. The same word as hospital. ETD hotel (n.).2
"proprietor of a hotel," 1905, from French hôtelier "hotelkeeper," from Old French ostelier, hostelier (12c.), from hostel "a lodging" (see hostel). Compare hostler. ETD hotelier (n.).2
"hastily," c. 1300, from hot + foot (n.). As a verb in U.S. slang, from 1896. As the name of a prank played with matches, by 1934. ETD hot-foot (adv.).2
"short-tempered person," 1650s, from hot in the figurative sense + head (n.); Johnson's dictionary also lists hotmouthed "headstrong, ungovernable;" Elizabethan English had hot-brain "hothead" (c. 1600); and Old English had hatheort "anger, rage," literally "hot heart." ETD hothead (n.).2
mid-15c., "bath house," from hot + house (n.). In 17c. a euphemism for "brothel;" the meaning "glass-roofed structure for raising tender plants or protecting exotics" is from 1749. Figurative use of this sense by 1802. ETD hothouse (n.).2
in the literal sense 1520s, from hot (adj.) + -ly (2). Old English hatlice, Middle English hoteli are recorded only in the sense "ardently." ETD hotly (adv.).2
"short-shorts," 1970, from hot (adj.) + pants (n.). Probably influenced by earlier sense of "sexual arousal" (1927). ETD hot pants (n.).2
also hot rod, 1945, American English, from hot (adj.) + rod (n.), here apparently in a sense of "hunk of metal" (the cars also were called hot iron). ETD hot-rod (n.).2
"important person," 1933; see hot + shot (n.). It earlier meant "fast train" (1925), and "foolish, reckless person" (c. 1600). ETD hotshot (n.).2
also hotspot, 1837 as "dangerous situation;" 1838 as a skin irritation; 1931 as "nightclub;" 1938 in the firefighting sense; 1941 as "place of international conflict." See hot (adj.) + spot (n.). ETD hot spot (n.).2
1670s, from South African Dutch, said in old Dutch sources to be a word that means "stammerer," from hot en tot "hot and tot," nonsense words imitative of stammering. The word was applied to the people for the clicking, jerking quality of Khoisan speech. Related: Hottentotic. ETD Hottentot (n.).2
also hotty, "attractive person," teen slang by 1995, from hot + -ie. The same word was used from 1947 with sense "hot water bottle." ETD hottie (n.).2
c. 1400, literal; 1530s in figurative sense of "trouble." See hot (adj.) + water (n.1). Hot-water bottle meaning an earthenware bottle filled with hot water to provide warmth, is from 1813. The soft versions made from vulcanized fabric or rubber appeared ca. 1850. ETD hot water (n.).2
also hotwire, "bypass the ignition key to start a motor vehicle," 1966, from hot-wire (adj.), which is attested from 1889 in reference to electricity wires. Related: Hot-wired; hot-wiring. ETD hot-wire (v.).2
"escape artist or other ingenious person," 1923, from Harry Houdini, professional name of U.S. escapist Erich Weiss (1874-1926). ETD Houdini (n.).2
see hock (n.1). ETD hough (n.).2
"hunt with hounds," 1520s, from hound (n.). Figurative sense "pursue relentlessly" first recorded c. 1600. Related: Hounded; hounding. ETD hound (v.).2
Old English hund "dog," from Proto-Germanic *hundaz (source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian hund, Old High German hunt, German Hund, Old Norse hundr, Gothic hunds), from PIE *kwnto-, dental enlargement of root *kwon- "dog." Meaning narrowed 12c. to "dog used for hunting" (compare dog (n.)). Contemptuously, of a man, from late Old English. ETD hound (n.).2
by 1821, from hound (n.) + dog (n.). ETD hound-dog (n.).2
also hound's tooth, in reference to a jagged-edged design pattern, 1936, so called for resemblance. ETD houndstooth (adj.).2
see hoopla. ETD houp-la (interj.).2
c. 1200, "divine office prescribed for each of the seven canonical hours; the daily service at the canonical hours;" c. 1300, "time of day appointed for prayer, one of the seven canonical hours," from Old French ore, hore "canonical hour; one-twelfth of a day" (sunrise to sunset), from Latin hora "an hour;" poetically "time of year, season," from Greek hōra a word used to indicate any limited time within a year, month, or day (from PIE *yor-a-, from root *yer- "year, season;" see year). ETD hour (n.).2
Church sense is oldest in English. Meaning "one of the 24 equal parts of a natural solar day (time from one sunrise to the next), equal hour; definite time of day or night reckoned in equal hours," and that of "one of the 12 equal parts of an artificial day (sunrise to sunset) or night, varying in duration according to the season; definite time of day or night reckoned in unequal hours" are from late 14c. In the Middle Ages the planets were held to rule over the unequal hours. As late as 16c. distinction sometimes was made in English between temporary (unequal) hours and sidereal (equal) ones. Meaning "time of a particular happening; the time for a given activity" (as in hour of death) is mid-14c. ETD hour (n.).3
The h- has persisted in this word despite not being pronounced since Roman times. Replaced Old English tid, literally "time" (see tide (n.)) and stund "period of time, point of time, hour," from Proto-Germanic *stundo (compare German Stunde "hour"), which is of uncertain origin. German Uhr likewise is from French. ETD hour (n.).4
Greek hora could mean "a season; 'the season' (spring or summer)." In classical times it sometimes meant "a part of the day," such as morning, evening, noon, night. The Greek astronomers apparently borrowed the notion of dividing the day into twelve parts (mentioned in Herodotus) from the Babylonians. Night continued to be divided into four watches (see watch (n.)); but because the amount of daylight changed throughout the year, the hours were not fixed or of equal length. ETD hour (n.).5
As a measure of distance ("the distance that can be covered in an hour") it is recorded from 1785. At all hours "at all times" is from early 15c. For small hours (those with low numbers) see wee (adj.). ETD hour (n.).6
also hour-glass, instrument for measuring time, 1510s, from hour + glass (n.). Used 19c. in a variety of technical and scientific senses to describe the shape; in reference to women's torsos by 1897. ETD hourglass (n.).2
"nymph of Muslim paradise," 1737, from French houri (1650s), from Persian huri "nymph in Paradise," from Arabic haura "to be beautifully dark-eyed," like a gazelle + -i, Persian formative element denoting the singular. ETD houri (n.).2
late 15c., "every hour;" as an adjective, 1510s, "happening or done every hour," from hour + -ly. ETD hourly (adv.).2
also hour-long, 1803, from hour + long (adj.). ETD hourlong (adj.).2
Old English hus "dwelling, shelter, building designed to be used as a residence," from Proto-Germanic *hūsan (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian hus, Dutch huis, German Haus), of unknown origin, perhaps connected to the root of hide (v.) [OED]. In Gothic only in gudhus "temple," literally "god-house;" the usual word for "house" in Gothic being according to OED razn. ETD house (n.).2
Meaning "family, including ancestors and descendants, especially if noble" is from c. 1000. Zodiac sense is first attested late 14c. The legislative sense (1540s) is transferred from the building in which the body meets. Meaning "audience in a theater" is from 1660s (transferred from the theater itself, playhouse). Meaning "place of business" is 1580s. The specialized college and university sense (1530s) also applies to both buildings and students collectively, a double sense found earlier in reference to religious orders (late 14c.). As a dance club DJ music style, probably from the Warehouse, a Chicago nightclub where the style is said to have originated. ETD house (n.).3
To play house is from 1871; as suggestive of "have sex, shack up," 1968. House arrest first attested 1936. House-painter is from 1680s. House-raising (n.) is from 1704. On the house "free" is from 1889. House and home have been alliteratively paired since c. 1200. ETD house (n.).4
"ornamental covering," c. 1300, houce "covering for the back and flanks of a horse," from Old French houce "mantle, horse-blanket" (Modern French housse), from Medieval Latin hultia "protective covering," from a Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *hulfti (source also of Middle Dutch hulfte "pocket for bow and arrow," Middle High German hulft "covering"), from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save." Sense of "case or enclosure for machine or part" is first recorded 1882, verbal noun from house (v.). ETD housing (n.2).2
"give shelter to," Old English husian "to take into a house; place or enclose in a house" (cognate with Old Frisian husa, German hausen, Dutch huizen); see house (n.). Intransitive sense from 1590s. Related: Housed; housing. ETD house (v.).2
c. 1300, from house (n.) + -ful. ETD houseful (n.).2
"buildings, lodgings," early 14c., husing, from house (n.). ETD housing (n.1).2
also house-boat, "boat fitted out as a house," 1790, from house (n.) + boat (n.). ETD houseboat (n.).2
1820, "to break into a house criminally;" perhaps a back-formation from housebreaking or housebreaker. Sense of "to train a domestic animal to be clean in the house" is from 1881. Related: Housebroken. ETD housebreak (v.).2
"breaking into a house with felonious intent," early 14c., from house (n.) + break (v.). Formerly used of crimes by day, burglary being for crimes by night. Modifying or replacing earlier husbreche, Old English hus-bryce. Housebreaker is from mid-15c. ETD housebreaking (n.).2
"domestic science," 1906, from house (n.) + craft (n.). ETD housecraft (n.).2
also house-fly, "Musca domestica," early 15c., from house (n.) + fly (n.). ETD housefly (n.).2
late 14c., "head of a household or family; one who manages a household;" by mid-15c. as "one who holds or occupies a house as his dwelling," from household. There are similar formations in other Germanic languages (German Haushälter) also often with corresponding verbal forms (German haushalten) but not in English. ETD householder (n.).2
late 14c., "members of a family collectively (including servants)," also "furniture and articles belonging to a house;" see house (n.) + hold (n.1). As an adjective, "of or pertaining to house and family, domestic," from late 14c. Compare householder. Household word, one that is in very familiar use, is from 1590s; variant household name is from 1862. ETD household (n.).2
1540s, "management of domestic concerns," perhaps a back-formation from housekeeper. ETD housekeeping (n.).2
mid-15c., "householder," from house (n.) + keeper. A later equivalent of householder. The sense of "female head domestic servant of a house" is from c. 1600 (to keep house, as part of a wife's duty, is from late 14c.). Housekeep (v.) is from 1842 and appears to be a back-formation. ETD housekeeper (n.).2
also house-mate, "one who shares a house with another," 1680s, from house (n.) + mate (n.). ETD housemate (n.).2
also house-maid, 1690s, from house (n.) + maid (n.). ETD housemaid (n.).2
1520s, from house (n.) + top (n.1). ETD housetop (n.).2
also house-warming, "celebration of the entry of a family into a new home," 1570s, from house (n.) + verbal noun from warm (v.). ETD housewarming (n.).2
early 13c., husewif, "woman, usually married, in charge of a family or household; wife of a householder," from huse "house" (see house (n.)) + wif "woman" (see wife (n.)). Compare husband (n.). Originally pronounced "huzzif;" the full written form of it began to be used from c. 1500, representing a pronunciation shift that was made at least in part to distinguish it from its offspring, hussy. In 16c., "housewife and hussy were still realized to be same word," and it was felt "that a distinction between the two was due to the reputable matron" [Fowler]. From mid-18c.: "It is common to use housewife in a good, and huswife or hussy in a bad sense" [Johnson]. Related: Housewifely. ETD housewife (n.).2
1841, from house (n.) + work (n.). ETD housework (n.).2
city in Texas, U.S., founded 1836 and named for first president of Texas, Sam Houston. The family name is from the barony of Houston in Lanark. ETD Houston.2
one of a race or species of horses endowed with reason and virtue, who rule over the brutish human Yahoos in "Gulliver's Travels," 1727, coined by Swift perhaps to suggest whinnying, but Century Dictionary suggests it is a mere fanciful combination of letters "not necessarily intended to imitate the sound of neighing." ETD Houyhnhnm.2
mid-13c., of birds, "remain suspended in air;" also generally, "to float, rise to the surface;" from c. 1300 as "wait in readiness or expectation;" late 14c. as "loom protectively over," also figurative, of unknown origin. In Middle English often of ships at anchor, standing off a coast. Common 13c.-16c., then superseded by its derivative, hover (v.)). ETD hove (v.1).2
"to rise up, to swell," 1590s, evidently from heave (v.), perhaps from its past tense form hove. ETD hove (v.2).2
mid-14c., "roofed passage, vent for smoke," later "shed for animals" (mid-15c.), of unknown origin. The proposal that it is a diminutive of Old English hof "dwellings, farm" is "etymologically and chronologically inadmissible" [OED]. Meaning "shed for human habitation; rude or miserable cabin" is from 1620s. It also sometimes meant "canopied niche for a statue or image" (mid-15c.). ETD hovel (n.).2
c. 1400, hoveren, frequentative of hoven "hover, tarry, linger;" see hove (v.1). Related: Hovered; hovering. As a noun from 1510s. ETD hover (v.).2
1959, from hover (v.) + craft (n.). ETD hovercraft (n.).2
Old English hu "how," from Proto-Germanic *hwo (source also of Old Saxon hwo, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch hu, Dutch hoe, German wie, Gothic hvaiwa "how"), an adverbial form from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns. Practically a doublet of why, differentiated in form and use. ETD how (adv.).2
How come? for "why?" is recorded from 1848 [Bartlett]. Emphatic phrase and how! is recorded from 1865. The formulation was common in book and article titles ("The National Debt, and How to Pay It"), but Pennsylvania writer Bayard Taylor, in whom it is first recorded, seems to have regarded it as a German or German-American expression. ETD how (adv.).3
also how, "artificial burial mound," 1660s, from a local word in northern England for a hill or hillock, from a Middle English use of Old Norse haugr "mound; cairn," perhaps from the root of high (adj.). ETD howe (n.).2
Native American greeting, Siouxan (Dakota hao, Omaha hau), first recorded 1817 in English. But according to OED, the same word was noted early 17c. by French missionary Jean de Brebeuf among Hurons as an expression of approval (1636). ETD how (interj.).2
proper name, from Old French Huard, from a Germanic source similar to Old High German *Hugihard "heart-brave," or *Hoh-weard, literally "high defender; chief guardian." Also probably in some cases a confusion with cognate Old Norse Haward, and as a surname also with unrelated Hayward. In some rare cases from Old English eowu hierde "ewe herd." ETD Howard.2
"be it as it may, notwithstanding, nevertheless, yet; notwithstanding that," late 15c., contraction of hough be hit (early 15c.), literally "how be it." Compare albeit. ETD howbeit (adv., conj.).2
"seat on the back of an elephant for two or more to ride," 1774, from Persian and Urdu haudah, from Arabic haudaj "litter carried by a camel" (or elephant). ETD howdah (n.).2
greeting salutation, originally a dialectal contraction of a phrase inquiring after someone's health, by 1720 as howdy'ee; c. 1600 as how dee, originally in servants' lines in old plays; a contraction of how do ye? (1560s), Huet dest þou? (mid-14c.). The form how dee do is attested from 1680s. ETD howdy.2
late 14c., from how + ever. ETD however (adv., conj.).2
1690s, hauwitzer, 1680s howitts, via Dutch houwitser (1660s), an extended borrowing of German Haubitze, from Bohemian houfnice "a catapult," from houf "heap, crowd," a loan-word from Middle High German hufe "heap." Introduced to German during the Hussite wars, 14c. ETD howitzer (n.).2
c. 1600, "that howls," present-participle adjective from howl (v.)). The word was used in the King James Bible (1611) in reference to waste and wilderness (Deuteronomy xxxii.10), "characterized by or filled with howls (of wild beasts or the wind," which has tended to give it a merely intensive force. ETD howling (adj.).2
early 13c., houlen, probably ultimately of imitative origin; similar formations are found in other Germanic languages. Also compare owl. Related: Howled; howling. As a noun from 1590s. ETD howl (v.).2
1800, "animal that howls," originally in reference to the South American monkey, agent noun from howl (v.). Meaning "glaring blunder, ridiculous mistake" is first recorded 1890. In early telephony (1886 - c. 1920) the name of a device used by the exchange to produce a loud howl in the receiver to attract a subscriber who has not hung up his end of the connection. ETD howler (n.).2
late 14c., how so evere "no matter how, however," an emphatic form of how-so "in what(ever) way" (late Old English hu se), from how (adv.) + so (adv.); + ever. ETD howsoever (adv.).2
A parallel and earlier form in Middle English was howsomever (early 14c.), which survived through 18c. in provincial English and after that was counted a vulgar Americanism by English writers; it is the same compound but with the obsolete conjunction sum, from Old Norse sem "as, that" (cognate with Danish and Swedish som) in place of so. ETD howsoever (adv.).3
"honey-plant," climbing, flowering plant of southeast Asia, 1816, named in Modern Latin in honor of English gardener and botanist Thomas Hoy (c. 1750-1822). ETD hoya (n.).2
"ill-bred, boisterous young female," 1670s; earlier "rude, boorish fellow" (1590s), of uncertain origin; perhaps from Dutch heiden "rustic, uncivilized man," from Middle Dutch heiden "heathen," from Proto-Germanic *haithinaz- (see heathen). OED points to Elizabethan hoit "indulge in riotous and noisy mirth" in Nares. ETD hoyden (n.).2
cited as a typical authority on card or board games, by 1755, a reference to Edmond Hoyle (1672-1769), author of several works on card-playing. The surname, according to Bardsley, represents a Northern English dialectal pronunciation of hole. "In Yorks and Lancashire hole is still dialectically hoyle. Any one who lived in a round hollow or pit would be Thomas or Ralph in the Hoyle." ["Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames," London, 1901] ETD Hoyle.2
1992, standing for Hypertext Markup Language. ETD HTML.2
abbreviation of hypertext transfer protocol, by 1990. ETD http.2
"having a color" of a specified kind, late Old English, from hue (n.1). ETD hued (adj.).2
1950, American English, approximate acronym for House Committee to Investigate un-American Activities (1938-1975). ETD HUAC (n.).2
"solid center of a wheel," 1640s, of uncertain origin, perhaps, if all the senses are in fact the same word, from hubbe, originally probably "lump, round protuberance, boss," the source of the hob of a fireplace and the hobnail of a boot. A wheelwright's word, not generally known or used until c. 1828; it reached wider currency with the vogue for bicycling. Meaning "center of interest or activity or importance" first recorded 1858 in writings of Oliver W. Holmes, and originally especially of Boston. ETD hub (n.).2
also sometimes hubba-hubba-hubba, a U.S. slang cry of excitement or enthusiasm, noted in early 1946 as a vogue phrase among teenagers and "one of the most widely used expressions emerging from the war" [The Y News, March 21, 1946]. It served as "a refined wolf call, or merely to express approval, approbation, or exultation" [Twin Falls, Idaho, Times News, May 5, 1946, quoting Hartford Courant]. ETD hubba-hubba (interj.).2
Contemporary sources traced it variously to the U.S. Army Air Forces and the phrase sometimes is said to be from an Asian language. Another suggested origin is the drill instructor's repeated hup! to keep his soldiers marching in rhythm. Hubba and hubba-hubba appear in an armed forces publication from 1944 over photographs of soldiers marching or drilling. A column in the official service journal "Air Force" for September 1943 mentions "the old cadet war-cry, 'Habba Habba.' " ETD hubba-hubba (interj.).3
Hubba! also is noted by 1905 as a call used at sea by Cornish fishermen when sighting a school of pilchard, and haba-haba is attested as circus term for a sort of side-man for an artist working a crowd (1924). Haba Haba also figures in a 1925 poem-chorus of suggestive nonsense phrases. ETD hubba-hubba (interj.).4
colloquial shortening of husband (n.) attested from 1680s, with -y (3). ETD hubby (n.).2
space telescope placed in orbit 1990, named for U.S. astronomer Edwin P. Hubble (1889-1953). Hubble's Law is from 1933. ETD Hubble (n.).2
1550s, whobub "confused noise," of uncertain origin; according to OED generally believed to be of Irish origin, perhaps from Gaelic ub!, expression of aversion or contempt, or Old Irish battle cry abu, from buide "victory." ETD hubbub (n.).2
see hubbub. ETD hub-bub (n.).2
also hub cap, 1896, from hub + cap (n.). ETD hubcap (n.).2
masc. proper name, from French, from Old High German Hugubert, literally "bright-minded," from hugu "mind" (see Hugh) + beraht "bright" (from PIE root *bhereg- "to shine; bright, white."). ETD Hubert.2
1884, a back-formation from hubristic or else from Greek hybris "wanton violence, insolence, outrage," originally "presumption toward the gods;" the first element probably PIE *ud- "up, out" (see out (adv.)) but the meaning of the second is debated. Spelling hybris is more classically correct and began to appear in English in translations of Nietzsche c. 1911. ETD hubris (n.).2
also hybristic, 1831, from Greek hybristikos "given to wantonness, insolent," from hybrizein "to wax wanton, run riot," related to hybris (see hubris). ETD hubristic (adj.).2
common name of various plants bearing small blue, red, or black berries, 1660s, American English, probably an alteration of Middle English hurtilbery "whortleberry" (15c.), from Old English horte "whortleberry." Technically the fruit and plant of Gaylussacia, but also widely colloquially applied to the closely related blueberry (Vaccinium). ETD huckleberry (n.).2
It figured in various colloquial American phrases, meaning sometimes "person or thing of little consequence" (1835), which seems to be the sense that inspired "Mark Twain's" character name (in comparison to Tom Sawyer), but also "that which is just right." Huckle as a dialect word meaning "hip" is from 1520s in English, from Low German. ETD huckleberry (n.).3
c. 1200, "petty merchant, peddler" (often contemptuous), from Middle Dutch hokester "peddler," from hoken "to peddle" (see hawk (v.1)) + agent suffix -ster (which was typically feminine in English, but not in Low German). Specific sense of "advertising salesman" is from 1946 novel by Frederick Wakeman. As a verb from 1590s. Related: Huckstered; huckstering. ETD huckster (n.).2
"husk of a seed," late 14c., of uncertain origin; perhaps related to or a dialectal form of hood (n.1). ETD hud (n.).2