English Explanatory Dictionary

hoof

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The tip of a toe of an ungulate such as a horse, ox or deer, strengthened by a thick keratin covering.
  2. The human foot.
  3. An ungula.
  4. The heel of a loaf of bread.
verb
  1. To trample with hooves.
  2. To walk.
  3. To dance, especially as a professional.
  4. To kick, especially to kick a football a long way downfield with little accuracy.

Pronunciation

ho͝of /hʊf/ /huːf/ en-us-hoof.ogg

Word forms

hoof hooves hoofs hoofing hoofed hoove

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós Proto-Germanic *hōfaz Proto-West Germanic *hōf Old English hōf Middle English hof English hoof Inherited from Middle English hof, houf, houve, hove, from Old English hōf, from Proto-Germanic *hōfaz (compare West Frisian hoef, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Danish hov, Norwegian hov, Swedish hov), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós (compare Sanskrit शफ (śaphá, “hoof, claw”), Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬟𐬀 (safa, “hoof”), possibly Czech, Polish kopyto).

Synonyms

boot

Related words

hoofed

Derived words

ale-hoof beat the hoof beef on the hoof beef to the hoof brohoof cloven hoof empty-hoofed facehoof forehoof hoof-and-mouth disease hoofball hoofbeat hoofbound hoof fungus hoofish hoofless hooflet hooflike hoof-mark hoofmark hoofology hoof pick hoofprint hoofrot hoofstep hoofstock hoofy hooved horsehoof horse's hoof hot-hoof iron hoof on the hoof pad the hoof show the cloven hoof steak on the hoof underhoof unhoof hoofer hoof it hoof out
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