HOCK

Hock

The hock, or gambrel, is the joint between the tarsal bones and tibia of a digitigrade or unguligrade quadrupedal mammal, such as a horse, cat, or dog. This joint may include articulations between tarsal bones and the fibula in some species, while in others the fibula has been greatly reduced and is only found as a vestigial remnant fused to the distal portion of the tibia . It is the anatomical homologue of the ankle of the human foot. While homologous joints occur in other tetrapods, the term is generally restricted to mammals, particularly long-legged domesticated species.

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Hock (anatomy)
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hock

Noun

  1. A Rhenish wine, of a light yellow color, either sparkling or still, from the Hochheim region, but often applied to all Rhenish wines.

Noun (etymology 2)

  1. The tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped, such as a horse, pig or dog.
  2. Meat from that part of a food animal.

Noun (etymology 3)

  1. Pawn, obligation as collateral for a loan.
    He needed $750 to get his guitar out of hock at the pawnshop.
  2. Debt.
    They were in hock to the bank for $35 million.
  3. Installment purchase.
  4. Prison.

Verb

  1. To disable by cutting the tendons of the hock; to hamstring; to hough.

Verb (etymology 2)

  1. To leave with a pawnbroker as security for a loan.

Verb (etymology 3)

  1. To bother; to pester; to annoy incessantly


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: hock
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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