hox

H4O1X8

verb

To hock; to hamstring; to cripple; to disable.

Similar
hamstringhockhough
OriginMiddle English hoxen ← Old English hōhsinu ← Proto-West Germanic *hą̄hasinu →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

hox1

nounhox (plural hoxes)

plural hoxes

  1. abbreviationbiologyAbbreviation of homeobox.

hox2

verbhox (third-person singular simple present hoxes, present participle hoxing, simple past and past participle hoxed)

present singular third person hoxes · participle present hoxing · participle past hoxed · past hoxed

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo hock; to hamstring; to cripple; to disable.

    To bide upon't: thou art not honest; or / If thou inclin'st that way, thou art a coward, / Which hoxes honesty behind, restraining / From course required.

    c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, act 1, scene 2

    Synonyms: hamstring, hock, hough

HOX3

nounHOX (uncountable)
  1. uncountablechemistryhypohalous acid

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo hock; to hamstring; to cripple; to disable.

Similar
hamstringhockhough
Also see
hamstringhockhough

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*hanhasinwō
  2. Proto-West Germanic*hą̄hasinu
  3. Old Englishhōhsinu
  4. Middle Englishhoxen
  5. Englishhox

Inherited from Middle English hoxen, reduction or back-formation of earlier hoxenen, from the noun *hoxene (only attested as hokschyne, with alteration after schyne), from Old English hōhsinu, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄hasinu, from Proto-Germanic *hanhasinwō, from *hanhaz (“heel”) + *senawō (“sinew”). Compare hough, huxen, and sinew.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

hox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hox

MLA

“hox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hox. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hox,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hox.

Source: hox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.