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hackneyed

- 4 dictionary results

hack⋅neyed

[hak-need]
–adjective
made commonplace or trite; stale; banal: the hackneyed images of his poetry.

Origin:
1740–50; hackney + -ed 2


overdone, overused. See commonplace.

hack⋅ney

[hak-nee] noun, plural -neys, adjective, verb
–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


hack⋅ney⋅ism, noun
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.]
hack·neyed   (hāk'nēd)   
adj.  Overfamiliar through overuse; trite.
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