hind

[hahynd]

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adjective

situated in the rear or at the back; posterior: the hind legs of an animal.

Origin of hind

1300–50; Middle English hinde; compare Old English hindan (adv.) from behind, at the back; cognate with German hinten; see behind, hinder²

Synonym study

See back¹.

hind

[hahynd]

noun, plural hinds, (especially collectively) hind.

Zoology. the female of the deer, chiefly the red deer, especially in and after the third year.

any of several speckled serranid fishes of the genus Epinephelus, found in the warmer waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.

Origin of hind

before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch hinde, Old Norse, Danish, Swedish hind, Old High German hinta (German, Low German Hinde)

hind

[hahynd]

noun

a peasant or rustic.

Scot. and North England. a farm laborer.

Origin of hind

before 1000; alteration of Middle English hine (plural) servants, Old English (Anglian) hīne, hī(g)na, genitive of hīgan (West Saxon hīwan) members of a household, domestics; see hide³

Hind

Hindustani(def 1).

Hind.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hind

postern, behind, rearward, posterior, tail, following, final, rear, aback, abaft, aft, after, astern, backward, hindmost, rearmost

Examples from the Web for hind

Contemporary Examples of hind

This video shows a bear walking on its hind legs through a New Jersey neighborhood.
Bear Walks Upright, ‘Apparently Kid,’ and More Viral Videos
The Daily Beast Video
August 10, 2014
A taxidermic bear stands almost six feet tall on his hind legs with his mouth gaping in a never-ending silent roar.
Half of This Bar Is in Slovenia, the Other Half Is in Croatia
Jeff Campagna
January 6, 2014
So they took the hind legs of the animal and began to drag it the other way.
The Ghosts of Israel’s Past
John Barry
September 14, 2011
“They rise up on their hind legs when somebody is coming to attack their cubs,” Palin said.
The 2010 Political Dictionary from A to Z
Samuel P. Jacobs
December 12, 2010
To me, this whole thing read as hind quarter covering that only made things worse—as coverups always do.
The Coverup Is Worse Than the Crime
Marcia Clark
July 27, 2009

Historical Examples of hind

"Crooked as a dog's hind legs," snarled Lewis, biting viciously at his cigar.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
Madly she struggled again and again to get her hind legs to work.
Johnny Bear
E. T. Seton
Another fierce attempt, and one hind leg obeyed the call to duty.
Johnny Bear
E. T. Seton
He was up on his hind legs, and it was a wrestle between master and dog.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens
Our carriage was standing up, like a horse kicking up its hind legs.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt

British Dictionary definitions for hind

hind

adjective hinder, hindmost or hindermost

(prenominal) (esp of parts of the body) situated at the back or reara hind leg

Word Origin for hind

Old English hindan at the back, related to German hinten; see behind, hinder ²

hind

noun plural hinds or hind

the female of the deer, esp the red deer when aged three years or more

any of several marine serranid fishes of the genus Epinephelus, closely related and similar to the gropers

Word Origin for hind

Old English hind; related to Old High German hinta, Greek kemas young deer, Lithuanian szmúlas hornless

hind

noun (formerly)

a simple peasant

(in N Britain) a skilled farm worker

a steward

Word Origin for hind

Old English hīne, from hīgna, genitive plural of hīgan servants

Hind.

abbreviation for

Hindi

Hindu

Hindustan

Hindustani

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hind

adj.

c.1300, "rear, back," perhaps a back-formation from Old English behindan "back, behind," used as adverb and preposition, or from or influenced by Old English hindan (adv.) "from behind," from Proto-Germanic *hind- "behind" (cognate with Gothic hindan (prep.) "on that side of, beyond, behind;" German hinten "behind"), of unknown origin. Possibly influenced by Middle English hiner (adv.) "back, rear."

"female deer," Old English hind, from Proto-Germanic *hinthjo- (cf. Old Norse hind, Dutch hinde, Old High German hinta, German Hinde "hind") perhaps from PIE *kemti-, from root *kem- "hornless" (cf. Greek kemas, Lithuanian smulas "young deer, gazelle").