Hock

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /hɒk/

Definitions

1. To leave an item with a pawnbroker in exchange for a loan ; the joint in the hind leg of certain animals located between the knee and the ankle
2. To deposit property temporarily as security for money borrowed ; a bendable joint in the back legs of creatures such as horses or cattle
3. To pawn possessions as collateral for funds ; the lower leg joint found on the rear limbs of animals like dogs and horses

Etymology: Before "hock" named the joint, it was an old English word for the back of the leg, "hōh," which also lies behind "hough," an older spelling still found in dialect and in the tradition of hamstringing animals. The joint in question is the one that looks like a knee bent backwards on animals such as horses, cattle and pigs, and in pork it survives as a cut sold as "ham hock." The word we use for the joint itself came from an unexpected direction. The Dutch "hok" meant a hutch, hovel or pen, and from that came the English phrase "in hock," meaning in pawn or in debt, first recorded in the 1850s. The two senses of "hock" are unrelated, a point worth keeping in mind when you see the word in a wine list.

Synonyms: ankle, joint