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hug

 - 3 dictionary results

hug

  [huhg] verb, hugged, hug⋅ging, noun
Use hug in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to clasp tightly in the arms, esp. with affection; embrace.
2. to cling firmly or fondly to; cherish: to hug an opinion.
3. to keep close to, as in sailing, walking, or in moving along or alongside of: to hug the shore; to hug the road.
–verb (used without object)
4. to cling together; lie close.
–noun
5. a tight clasp with the arms; embrace.
Origin:
1560–70; perh. < ON hugga to soothe, console; akin to OE hogian to care for

Related forms:
hugger, noun
hug⋅ging⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To hug
hug   (hŭg)   
v.   hugged, hug·ging, hugs

v.   tr.

  1. To clasp or hold closely, especially in the arms, as in affection; embrace.

  2. To hold steadfastly to; cherish: He still hugs his outmoded beliefs.

  3. To stay close to: a sailboat hugging the shore.

v.   intr.
To embrace or cling together closely.
n.  

  1. A close, affectionate embrace.

  2. A crushing embrace, as in wrestling.


[Probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse hugga, to comfort.]
hug'ga·ble adj., hug'ger n.
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

hug 
1567, hugge "to embrace," perhaps from O.N. hugga "to comfort," from hugr "courage, mood," from P.Gmc. *hugjan, related to O.E. hycgan "to think, consider," Goth. hugs "mind, soul, thought." Other have noted the similarity in some senses to Ger. hegen "to foster, cherish," originally "to enclose with a hedge." The noun was originally (1617) a hold in wrestling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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