hock3
- the state of being deposited or held as security; pawn: She was forced to put her good jewelry in hock.
- the condition of owing; debt: After the loan was paid, he was finally out of hock.
Origin of hock3
Examples from the Web for hocker
Historical Examples
Hocker was strong, and the tears were forcing themselves into my eyes in spite of me.
They and IJerome K. Jerome
He moved off in one direction, while Hocker and Ned took the other.
Canoe Boys and CampfiresWilliam Murray Graydon
Hocker and Jeffries exchanged glances of mutual understanding.
Canoe Boys and CampfiresWilliam Murray Graydon
"Moxley is trying to escape from the second floor," muttered Hocker.
Canoe Boys and CampfiresWilliam Murray Graydon
We are pleased that Sister Carr has obtained so good a place for usefulness as the one at Hocker.
The Story of a LifeJ. Breckenridge Ellis
hock1
- the joint at the tarsus of a horse or similar animal, pointing backwards and corresponding to the human ankle
- the corresponding joint in domestic fowl
- another word for hamstring
Word Origin
hock2
- any of several white wines from the German Rhine
- (not in technical usage) any dry white wine
Word Origin
hock3
- (tr) to pawn or pledge
- the state of being in pawn (esp in the phrase in hock)
- in hock
- in prison
- in debt
- in pawn
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for hocker
hock
n.1
"joint in the hind leg of a horse," mid-15c., earlier hockshin (late 14c.), from Old English hohsinu "sinew of the heel, Achilles' tendon," literally "heel sinew," from hoh "heel," from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (cf. German Hachse "hock," Old English hæla "heel"), from PIE *kenk- (3) "heel, bend of the knee."
hock
n.2
"Rhenish wine," 1620s, shortening of Hockamore, from German Hochheimer, "(wine) of Hochheim," town on the Main where wine was made; sense extended to German white wines in general.
hock
n.3
"pawn, debt," 1859, American English, in hock, which meant both "in debt" and "in prison," from Dutch hok "jail, pen, doghouse, hutch, hovel." The verb is 1878, from the noun.
When one gambler is caught by another, smarter than himself, and is beat, then he is in hock. Men are only caught, or put in hock, on the race-tracks, or on the steamboats down South. ... Among thieves a man is in hock when he is in prison. [G.W. Matsell, "Vocabulum," 1859]