hackney

¹

[ hak-nee ]

noun

, plural hack·neys.

1. Also called hackney coach. a carriage or coach for hire; cab.
2. a trotting horse used for drawing a light carriage or the like.
3. a horse used for ordinary riding or driving.
4. (initial capital letter) one of an English breed of horses having a high-stepping gait.

adjective

1. let out, employed, or done for hire.

verb (used with object)

1. to make trite, common, or stale by frequent use.
2. to use as a hackney.

Hackney

²

[ hak-nee ]

noun

1. a borough of Greater London, England.

hackney

¹

/ ˈhæknɪ /

noun

1. a compact breed of harness horse with a high-stepping trot
2. 1. a coach or carriage that is for hire
   2. ( as modifier )

      a hackney carriage

3. See hack
   a popular term for hack 2

verb

1. tr; usually passive to make commonplace and banal by too frequent use

Hackney

²

/ ˈhæknɪ /

noun

1. a borough of NE Greater London: formed in 1965 from the former boroughs of Shoreditch, Stoke Newington, and Hackney; nearby are Hackney Marshes, the largest recreation ground in London. Pop: 208 400 (2003 est). Area: 19 sq km (8 sq miles)

Derived Forms

• ˈhackneyism, noun

Other Words From

• hackney·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hackney¹

1300–50; Middle English hakeney, special use of placename Hackney, Middlesex, England

Word History and Origins

Origin of hackney¹

C14: probably after Hackney , where horses were formerly raised; sense 4 meaning derives from the allusion to a weakened hired horse

Example Sentences

Situated in hipster Hackney, the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History opens to the public on Wednesday.

From The Daily Beast

A rather wonderful tribute to Joan Rivers greeted commuters at Hackney Wick Overground station in London this morning.

From The Daily Beast

Commuters at Hackney Wick greeted by fond tribute to the late comedienne.

From The Daily Beast

Like Hackney, Taylor Bickford has mostly worked to get Republicans elected.

From The Daily Beast

“We are involved in a super PAC trying to help [Republican Senate contender] Dan Sullivan beat Mark Begich,” says Hackney.

From The Daily Beast

Edward sent him to London, 'fettered on a hackney,' to undergo the same barbarous death as his heroic brother.

From Project Gutenberg

The old days of comfortable hackney-carriages in hundreds about the Manila streets, at 50 cents Mex.

From Project Gutenberg

The word in former times meant merely a hackney, or horse adapted for the road.

From Project Gutenberg

So my wife and I took leave of my Ladies, and home by a hackney-coach, the easiest that ever I met with, and so to bed.

From Project Gutenberg

He hailed a hackney cab on its way to a neighboring stand, and jumped into it with an air of affected indifference.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• carriage
• taxi
• taxicab