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hosing

[hoh-zing]
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noun Slang.
  1. an act or instance of being taken advantage of or cheated.
  2. an act or instance of being attacked or defeated decisively; drubbing: Small investors took a hosing in the recent stock-market decline.
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Origin of hosing

hose + -ing1

hose

[hohz]
noun, plural hose for 2, 3; hos·es for 1, 4, 5; (Archaic) hos·en [hoh-zuh n] /ˈhoʊ zən/.
  1. a flexible tube for conveying a liquid, as water, to a desired point: a garden hose; a fire hose.
  2. (used with a plural verb) an article of clothing for the foot and lower part of the leg; stocking or sock.
  3. (of men's attire in former times)
    1. an article of clothing for the leg, extending from about the knee to the ankle and worn with knee breeches.
    2. (used with a plural verb)knee breeches.
    3. (used with a plural verb)tights, as were worn with, and usually attached to, a doublet.
  4. British Dialect. a sheath, or sheathing part, as that enclosing a kernel of grain.
  5. Golf. hosel.
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verb (used with object), hosed, hos·ing.
  1. to water, wash, spray, or drench by means of a hose (often followed by down): to hose the garden; to hose down the ship's deck.
  2. Slang.
    1. to cheat, trick, or take advantage of.
    2. to defeat decisively.
    3. to reject.
    4. Chiefly Military.to attack or assault (an area) in order to gain control quickly (sometimes followed by down).
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Origin of hose

before 1100; (noun) Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch hoos, Old Norse hosa, German Hose; (v.) Middle English: to provide with hose, derivative of the noun
Related formshose·less, adjectivehose·like, adjectiveun·hosed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hosing

Historical Examples

  • The night crew was moving through the empty Main Street, hosing down the streets, sweeping, scrubbing.

    Makers

    Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for hosing

hose1

noun
  1. a flexible pipe, for conveying a liquid or gas
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verb
  1. (sometimes foll by down) to wash, water, or sprinkle (a person or thing) with or as if with a hose
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Word Origin

C15: later use of hose ²

hose2

noun plural hose or hosen
  1. stockings, socks, and tights collectively
  2. history a man's garment covering the legs and reaching up to the waist; worn with a doublet
  3. half-hose socks
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Word Origin

Old English hosa; related to Old High German hosa, Dutch hoos, Old Norse hosa
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 hosing

hose

n.

late Old English, hosa "covering for the leg," from Proto-Germanic *husan (cf. Old Saxon, Old Norse hosa, Middle High German hose "covering for the leg," German Hose "trousers"), literally "covering," from PIE *(s)keu- "to cover, conceal" (see hide (n.1)). Old French hose, Old Spanish huesa are of Germanic origin. Sense of "flexible rubber tube for liquid" is first attested late 15c.

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hose

v.

c.1300, "to furnish with stockings," from hose (n.). Meaning "to water down with a hose" is from 1889. Related: Hosed; hosing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper