hoe

See also: hoë, hö, and hō'ē

English

A hoe

Pronunciation

  • (UK) enPR: hō, IPA(key): /həʊ/
  • (US) enPR: hō, IPA(key): /hoʊ/
  • Rhymes: -əʊ
  • Homophone: ho

Etymology 1

From Middle English howe, from Anglo-Norman houe, from Frankish *hauwa (compare Middle Dutch houwe), from Frankish *hauwan (“to hew”), from Proto-Germanic *hawwaną (“to cut, hew”). More at hew.

Noun

hoe (plural hoes)

  1. An agricultural tool consisting of a long handle with a flat blade fixed perpendicular to it at the end, used for digging rows.
    • 2009, TRU TV, 28 March:
      It was obvious that it consisted of several blows to the head from the hoe.
  2. The horned or piked dogfish.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

hoe (third-person singular simple present hoes, present participle hoeing, simple past and past participle hoed)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To cut, dig, scrape, turn, arrange, or clean, with this tool.
    to hoe the earth in a garden
    Every year, I hoe my garden for aeration.
    I always take a shower after I hoe in my garden.
  2. (transitive) To clear from weeds, or to loosen or arrange the earth about, with a hoe.
    to hoe corn
Derived terms
Translations

See also

Further reading

Etymology 2

From non-rhotic whore.

Alternative forms

Noun

hoe (plural hoes)

  1. (US, slang) Alternative spelling of ho (“whore, prostitute”).
    • 2002, Eithne Quinn, Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang: The Culture and Commerce of Gangsta Rap
      […] this chapter […] will […] explore why pimp (and hoe) characters, with their dramatic staging of gendered and occupational relations […] have taken such hold of the black youth imagination
    • 2003, Dan Harrington, The Good Eye
      At school they had been among the only couples that had not done “it” at the Pimp & Hoe parties that popped up occasionally at the dorm
Synonyms
  • See also Thesaurus:prostitute

Verb

hoe (third-person singular simple present hoes, present participle hoeing, simple past and past participle hoed)

  1. (US, slang) Alternative spelling of ho (“to prostitute”).
    • 2003, Da’rel the Relentless One, M. T. Pimp
      Pimpin’ came so naturally to MT when he and his sisters played pimp and hoe games that one of his sisters wanted to hoe for him when they grew up.

Etymology 3

From Old English hōh. Related to hough.

Noun

hoe (plural hoes)

  1. A piece of land that juts out towards the sea; a promontory.

Usage notes

  • Now used only in placenames e.g. "Plymouth Hoe".

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch hoe.

Adverb

hoe

  1. how

Angor

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /xoe/

Noun

hoe

  1. water

References

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch hoe, from Old Dutch huo, from Proto-Germanic *hwō.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -u
  • IPA(key): /ɦu/
  • audio(file)

Adverb

hoe

  1. how

Conjunction

hoe

  1. (forms a the parallel comparative) the ... the
    Hoe meer hoe beter! ― The more the better!
    Hoe eerder hoe beter! ― The sooner the better!

Usage notes

Second hoe can be replaced by des te; there is no difference between the two as they are purely a matter of preference, both are commonly used throughout the Dutch-speaking regions.

  • hoeveel, hoe veel
  • in hoeverre
  • hoezeer
  • hoedanig

Finnish

Verb

hoe

  1. Indicative present connegative form of hokea.
  2. Second-person singular imperative present form of hokea.
  3. Second-person singular imperative present connegative form of hokea.

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian [Term?] (compare Fijian voce, Maori hoe).

Noun

hoe

  1. oar

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian [Term?] (compare Fijian voce, Hawaiian hoe).

Noun

hoe

  1. oar

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch huo, from Proto-Germanic *hwō.

Adverb

hoe

  1. how, in what way/manner
  2. how, to what degree

Alternative forms

Descendants

Further reading

  • “hoe”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
  • “hoe (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929

Middle English

Etymology 1

Pronoun

hoe

  1. Alternative form of heo

References

Etymology 2

Pronoun

hoe

  1. Alternative form of he

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /huːə/ (example of pronunciation)

Noun

hoe f (definite singular hoa, indefinite plural hoer, definite plural hoene)

  1. Alternative form of ho

Old French

Noun

hoe f (oblique plural hoes, nominative singular hoe, nominative plural hoes)

  1. hoe (tool)

West Frisian

Adverb

hoe

  1. how (interrogative, relative)
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