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hind1

[hahynd]
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adjective
  1. situated in the rear or at the back; posterior: the hind legs of an animal.
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Origin of hind1

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.

hind2

[hahynd]
noun, plural hinds, (especially collectively) hind.
  1. Zoology. the female of the deer, chiefly the red deer, especially in and after the third year.
  2. any of several speckled serranid fishes of the genus Epinephelus, found in the warmer waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.
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Origin of hind2

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

hind3

[hahynd]
noun
  1. a peasant or rustic.
  2. Scot. and North England. a farm laborer.
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Origin of hind3

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

  1. Hindustani(def 1).
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Hind.

  1. Hindi.
  2. Hindu.
  3. Hindustan.
  4. Hindustani.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hind

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • "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

hind1

adjective hinder, hindmost or hindermost
  1. (prenominal) (esp of parts of the body) situated at the back or reara hind leg
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Word Origin

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

hind2

noun plural hinds or hind
  1. the female of the deer, esp the red deer when aged three years or more
  2. any of several marine serranid fishes of the genus Epinephelus, closely related and similar to the gropers
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Word Origin

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

hind3

noun (formerly)
  1. a simple peasant
  2. (in N Britain) a skilled farm worker
  3. a steward
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Word Origin

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

Hind.

abbreviation for
  1. Hindi
  2. Hindu
  3. Hindustan
  4. Hindustani
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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."

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n.

"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").

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper