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hush

 - 4 dictionary results

hush

  [huhsh]
Use hush in a Sentence
–interjection
1. (used as a command to be silent or quiet.)
–verb (used without object)
2. to become or be silent or quiet: They hushed as the judge walked in.
–verb (used with object)
3. to make silent; silence.
4. to suppress mention of; keep concealed (often fol. by up): They hushed up the scandal.
5. to calm, quiet, or allay: to hush someone's fears.
–noun
6. silence or quiet, esp. after noise.
7. Phonetics. either of the sibilant sounds (sh) and (zh).
–adjective
8. Archaic. silent; quiet.
Origin:
1350–1400; appar. back formation from husht whist 2 (ME huissht), the -t being taken for ptp. suffix

Related forms:
hush⋅ed⋅ly  [huhsh-id-lee, huhsht-lee] , adverb
hushful, adjective
hush⋅ful⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
6. peace, stillness, tranquillity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To hush
hush   (hŭsh)   
v.   hushed, hush·ing, hush·es

v.   tr.

  1. To make silent or quiet.

  2. To calm; soothe.

  3. To keep from public knowledge; suppress mention of. Often used with up: tried to hush up the damaging details.

v.   intr.
To be or become silent or still.
n.  A silence or stillness, especially after noise.
adj.   Archaic
Silent; quiet.

[Probably back-formation from Middle English husht, silent, of imitative origin.]
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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Slang Dictionary
hush (so)

  1. tv.
    to make someone be quiet. : Please hush your baby up!
  2. tv.
    to kill someone. : Nobody knew how to get to Mr. Gutman to hush him up.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

hush 
1546, variant of M.E. huisht (c.1380), probably of imitative origin, with terminal -t lost probably by being mistaken for a pt. suffix. Hush-hush (adj.) is 1916 reduplication. Hush-money is attested from 1709. Hush-puppy "deep-fried ball of cornmeal batter" first attested 1918; as a type of lightweight soft shoe, it is a proprietary name, registered 1961.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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