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hackney

 - 5 dictionary results

hack⋅ney

  [hak-nee] noun, plural -neys, adjective, verb
Use hackney in a Sentence
–noun
1. Also called hackney coach. a carriage or coach for hire; cab.
2. a trotting horse used for drawing a light carriage or the like.
3. a horse used for ordinary riding or driving.
4. (initial capital letter) one of an English breed of horses having a high-stepping gait.
–adjective
5. let out, employed, or done for hire.
–verb (used with object)
6. to make trite, common, or stale by frequent use.
7. to use as a hackney.
Origin:
1300–50; ME hakeney, special use of placename Hackney, Middlesex, England

Related forms:
hack⋅ney⋅ism, noun

Hack⋅ney

  [hak-nee]
–noun
a borough of Greater London, England. 206,200.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To hackney
hack·ney   (hāk'nē)   
n.   pl. hack·neys

  1. often Hackney A horse of a breed developed in England, having a gait characterized by pronounced flexion of the knee.

  2. A trotting horse suited for routine riding or driving; a hack.

  3. A coach or carriage for hire.

tr.v.   hack·neyed, hack·ney·ing, hack·neys

  1. To cause to become banal and trite through overuse.

  2. To hire out; let.

adj.  

  1. Banal; trite.

  2. Having been hired.


[Middle English hakenei, probably after Hakenei, Hackney, a borough of London, England, where such horses were raised.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

hackney 
c.1300, see hack (2).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

Hackney

inner borough of London, in the historic county of Middlesex. Hackney lies north of the City of London and Tower Hamlets, and its eastern boundary is the River Lea. It was created a borough in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former metropolitan boroughs of Shoreditch, Hackney, and Stoke Newington. Hackney includes areas and historic villages such as (from north to south) Stoke Newington, Upper Clapton, Lea Bridge, Lower Clapton, Dalston, Homerton, Hackney Wick, Hackney, Kingsland, Haggerston, Hoxton, and Shoreditch. Shoreditch, near the City, is industrial and commercial in character, whereas the rest of Hackney is largely residential with pockets of industry, notably along the Lea valley.

Learn more about Hackney with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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