Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

HILDING — HOARY

HILDING, n. A mean, sorry, paltry man or woman.

HILL, n. [L. collis.]

1. A natural elevation of land, or a mass of earth rising above the common level of the surrounding land; an eminence. A hill is less than a mountain, but of no definite magnitude, and is sometimes applied to a mountain. Jerusalem is seated on two hills. Rome stood on seven hills.

2. A cluster of plants, and the earth raised about them; as a hill of maiz or potatoes.

HILL, v.t. To raise earth about plants; to raise a little mass of earth. Farmers in New England hill their maiz in July.

Hilling is generally the third hoeing.

1. To cover. [L. celo.]

HILLED, pp. or a. Having hills.

HILLING, n. A covering.

1. The act of raising the earth around plants.

HILLOCK, n. A small hill.

HILLSIDE, n. The side or declivity of a hill.

HILLY, a. Abounding with hills; as a hilly country.

HILT, n. The handle of any thing; but chiefly applied to the handle of a sword.

HILTED, a. Having a hilt.

HILUM, n. The eye of a bean or other seed; the mark or scar of the umbilical chord, by which the seed adheres to the pericarp.

HIM, pron. The objective case of he, L. eum, anciently em or im.

Him that is weak in the faith receive. Romans 14:1.

Him and his were formerly used for nouns of the neuter gender, but the practice is obsolete.

HIMSELF, pron. In the nominative or objective case. [him and self.]

1. He; but himself is more emphatical, or more expressive of distinct personality than he.

With shame remembers, while himself was one

Of the same herd, himself the same had done.

2. When himself is added to he, or to a noun, it expresses discrimination of person with particular emphasis.

But he himself returned from the quarries. Judges 3:19.

But God himself is with us for our captain. 2 Chronicles 13:12.

3. When used as the reciprocal pronoun, it is not usually emphatical.

David hid himself in the field. 1 Samuel 20:24.

4. It was formerly used as a substitute for neuter nouns; as high as heaven himself. [This use is now improper.]

5. It is sometimes separated from he; as, he could not go himself, for he himself could not go.

6. Himself is used to express the proper character, or natural temper and disposition of a person, after or in opposition to wandering of mind, irregularity, or devious conduct from derangement, passion or extraneous influence. We say, a man has come to himself, after delirious or extravagant behavior. Let the man alone; let him act himself.

By himself, alone; unaccompanied; sequestered.

He sits or studies by himself.

Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 1 Kings 18:6.

HIN, n. [Heb.] A Hebrew measure of capacity containing the sixth part of an ephah, or about five quarts English measure.

HIND, n. The female of the red deer or stag.

HIND, n. A domestic; a servant.

1. A peasant; a rustic; or a husbandman’s servant.

HIND, a. Backward; pertaining to the part which follows; in opposition to the fore part; as the hind legs of a quadruped; the hind toes; the hind shoes of a horse; the hind part of an animal.

HINDBERRY, n. A species of Rubus.

HINDER, a. comp. of hind. That is in a position contrary to that of the head or fore part; designating the part which follows; as the hinder part of a wagon; the hinder part of a ship, or the stern. Acts 27:41.

HINDER, v.t. [L. cunctor.]

1. To stop; to interrupt; to obstruct; to impede or prevent from moving forward by any means. It is applicable to any subject, physical, moral or intellectual.

Them that were entering in, ye hindered. Luke 11:52.

2. To retard; to check in progression or motion; to obstruct for a time, or to render slow in motion. Cold weather hinders the growth of plants, or hinders them from coming to maturity in due season. Let no obstacle hinder daily improvement.

3. To prevent.

What hinders younger brothers, being fathers of families, from having the same right?

HINDER, v.i. To interpose obstacles or impediments.

This objection hinders not but that the heroic action of some commander--may be written.

HINDERANCE, n. The act of impeding or restraining motion.

1. Impediment; that which stops progression or advance; obstruction.

He must remove all these hinderances out of the way.

HINDERED, pp. Stopped; impeded; obstructed; retarded.

HINDERER, n. One who stops or retards; that which hinders.

HINDERING, ppr. Stopping; impeding; obstructing; retarding.

HINDERMOST, a. That which is behind all others; the last. [but we now use hindmost.]

HINDMOST, a. The last; that is in the rear of all others.

He met thee in the way, and smote the hindmost of thee. Deuteronomy 25:18.

HINDOO, n. An aboriginal of Hindoostan, or Hindostan.

HINGE, n. hinj. [This word appears to be connected with hang, and with angle, the verb.]

1. The hook or joint on which a door or gate turns.

The gate self-opened wide

On golden hinges turning.

2. That on which any thing depends or turns; a governing principle, rule or point. This argument was the hinge on which the question turned.

3. A cardinal point; as east, west, north or south. [Little used.]

To be off the hinges, is to be in a state of disorder or irregularity.

HINGE, v.t. To furnish with hinges.

1. To bend. [Little used.]

HINGE, v.i. To stand, depend or turn, as on a hinge. The question hinges on this single point.

HINGING, ppr. Depending; turning.

HINT, v.t. To bring to mind by a slight mention or remote allusion; to allude to; to suggest by a slight intimation.

Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.

HINT, v.i. To hint at, is to allude to; to mention slightly.

HINT, n. A distant allusion; slight mention; intimation; insinuation; a word or two intended to give notice, or remind one of something without a full declaration or explanation.

1. Suggestion.

HIP, n. The projecting part of an animal formed by the osilium or haunch bone; the haunch, or the flesh that covers the bone and the adjacent parts; the joint of the thigh.

To have on the hip, to have the advantage over one; a low phrase borrowed probably from wrestlers.

Hip and thigh, complete overthrow or defeat. Judges 15:8.

HIP, v.t. To sprain or dislocate the hip.

HIP, HOP, n. The fruit of the dog-rose, or wild brier.

HIP, HIPPED, HIPPISH. [See Hyp.]

HIPPELAPH, n. An animal of the deer kind, in Norway, about the size of the elk, and partaking of the nature of the horse and the stag.

HIPHALT, a. [hip and halt.] Lame; limping.

HIPPOCAMP, n. [Gr. a horse, and to bend.] A name given to the sea-horse.

HIPPOCENTAUR, n. [Gr. a horse, to spur, and a bull.]

In ancient fable, a supposed monster, half man and half horse. The hippocentaur differed from the centaur in this, that the latter rode on an ox, and the former on a horse, as the name imports.

HIPPOCRAS, n. A medicinal drink, composed of wine with an infusion of spices and other ingredients; used as a cordial. That directed by the late London Dispensary, is to be made of cloves, ginger, cinnamon and nutmegs, beat and infused in canary with sugar; to the infusion, milk, a lemon, and some slips of rosemary are to be added, and the whole strained through flannel.

Hippocrates’sleeve, a kind of bag, made by uniting the opposite angles of a square piece of flannel, used for straining syrups and decoctions.

Hippocratic face, [L. facies hippocratica,] pale, sunken, and contracted features, considered as a fatal symptom in diseases.

HIPPOCRATISM, n. The philosophy of Hippocrates, as it regards medicine.

HIPPODAME, n. A sea-horse.

HIPPODROME, n. [Gr. a horse, and a course, to run.] Anciently, a circus, or place in which horse races and chariot races were performed, and horses exercised.

HIPPOGRIFF, n. [Gr. a horse, and a griffon.] A fabulous animal or monster, half horse and half griffon; a winged horse, imagined by Ariosto.

HIPPOLITH, n. [Gr. a horse, and a stone.] A stone found in the stomach or intestines of a horse.

HIPPOMANE, n. [Gr. a horse, and madness.]

1. A sort of poisonous substance, used anciently as a philter or love-charm.

2. In botany, the manchineel-tree, which abounds with a milky juice which is acrid, caustic and poisonous.

HIPPOPHAGOUS, a. Feeding on horses, as the Tartars.

HIPPOPHAGY, n. [Gr. a horse, and to eat.] The act or practice of feeding on horses.

HIPPOPOTAMY, HIPPOPOTAMUS, n. [Gr. a horse, and a river.] The river-horse, an animal that inhabits the Nile and other rivers in Africa. This animal resembles a hog rather than a horse, and was named perhaps from his neighing voice. He has been found of the length of 17 feet. He delights in the water, but feeds on herbage on land.

HIPROOF, n. [hip and roof.] A roof that has an angle.

HIPSHOT, a. [hip and shot.] Having the hip dislocated.

HIPWORT, n. A plant.

HIRE, v.t.

1. To procure from another person and for temporary use, at a certain price, or for a stipulated or reasonable equivalent; as, to hire a farm for a year; to hire a horse for a day; to hire money at legal interest.

2. To engage in service for a stipulated reward; to contract with for a compensation; as, to hire a servant for a year; to hire laborers by the day or month.

3. To bribe; to engage in immoral or illegal service for a reward.

To hire out one’s self, to let; to engage one’s service to another for a reward.

They have hired out themselves for bread. 1 Samuel 2:5.

To hire, or to hire out, to let; to lease; to grant the temporary use of a thing for a compensation. He has hired out his house or his farm.

HIRE, n.

1. The price, reward or compensation paid or contracted to be given for the temporary use of any thing.

2. Wages; the reward or recompense paid for personal service.

The laborer is worthy of his hire. Luke 10:7.

HIRED, pp. Procured or taken for use, at a stipulated or reasonable price; as a hired farm.

1. Employed in service for a compensation; as a hired man; a hired servant.

HIRELING, n. One who is hired, or who serves for wages.

1. A mercenary; a prostitute.

HIRELING, a. Serving for wages; venal; mercenary; employed for money or other compensation.

A tedious crew

Of hireling mourners.

HIRER, n. One that hires; one that procures the use of any thing for a compensation; one who employs persons for wages, or contracts with persons for service.

HIRING, ppr. Procuring the use of for a compensation.

HIRSUTE, a. [L. hirsutus.]

1. Hairy; rough with hair; shaggy; set with bristles.

2. In botany, it is nearly synonymous with hispid, but it denotes having more hairs or bristles, and less stiff.

HIRSUTENESS, n. Hairiness.

HIS, pron. possessive of he, and pronounced hiz.

1. Of him. Thus in Alfred’s Orosius, “Sume for his ege ne dorstan.” Some for fear of his durst not; literally, for his awe, for awe of him. Lib. 3.8. In this instance, his does not express what belongs to the antecedent of his, [Philip,] but the fear which others entertained of him.

2. The present use of his is as a pronominal adjective, in any case indifferently, corresponding to the L. suus. Thus, tell John his papers are ready. I will deliver his papers to his messenger. He may take his son’s books. When the noun is omitted, his stands as its substitute, either in the nominative or objective case. Tell John this book is his. He may take mine and I will take his.

3. His was formerly used for its, but improperly, and the use has ceased.

4. It was formerly used as the sign of the possessive. The man his ground, for the man’s ground. This use has also ceased.

5. His is still used as a substitute for a noun, preceded by of; as all ye saints of his; he ministers of his.

Hisself is no longer used.

HISINGERITE, n. A mineral found in the cavities of calcarious spar, in Sudermanland.

HISPID, a. [L. hispidus.] Rough.

1. In botany, having strong hairs or bristles; beset with stiff bristles.

HISS, v.i.

1. To make a sound by driving the breath between the tongue and the upper teeth; to give a strong aspiration, resembling the noise made by a serpent and some other animals, or that of water thrown on hot iron. Hissing is an expression of contempt.

The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee. Ezekiel 27:36.

2. To express contempt or disapprobation by hissing.

3. To whiz, as an arrow or other thing in rapid flight.

HISS, v.t. To condemn by hissing; to explode. The spectators hissed him off the stage.

1. To procure hisses or disgrace.

--That of an hour’s age doth hiss the speaker.

HISS, n. The sound made by propelling the breath between the tongue and upper teeth; the noise of a serpent, a goose, etc.

He hiss for hiss returned.

1. An expression of contempt or disapprobation, used in places of public exhibition.

HISSING, ppr. Making the noise of serpents.

HISSING, n. A hissing sound; an expression of scorn or contempt.

1. The occasion of contempt; the object of scorn and derision.

I will make this city desolate, and a hissing. Jeremiah 19:8.

HISSINGLY, adv. With a whistling sound.

HIST, exclam. A word commanding silence; equivalent to hush, be silent.

HISTORIAL, a. Historical.

HISTORIAN, n. [L. historicus.] A writer or compiler of history; one who collects and relates facts and events in writing, particularly respecting nations.

Hume is called an elegant historian.

HISTORIC, HISTORICAL, a. [L. historicus.] Containing history, or the relation of facts; as a historical poem; the historic page; historic brass.

1. Pertaining to history; as historic care or fidelity.

2. Contained in history; deduced from history; as historical evidence.

3. Representing history; as a historical chart; historical painting.

HISTORICALLY, adv. In the manner of history; by way of narration.

The Gospels declare historically something which our Lord Jesus Christ did, spoke or suffered.

HISTORIED, a. Recorded in history. [Not much in use.]

HISTORIER, n. A historian.

HISTORIFY, v.t. To relate; to record in history. [Not used.]

HISTORIOGRAPHER, n. [Gr. history, and to write.] A historian; a writer of history; particularly, a professed historian; an officer employed to write the history of a prince or state; as the historiographer of his Britannic majesty.

HISTORIOGRAPHY, n. The art or employment of a historian.

HISTORIOLOGY, n. A discourse on history, or the knowledge of history. [Not in use.]

HISTORY, n. [L. historia; Gr. knowing, learned, and to inquire, to explore, to learn by inspection or inquiry.]

1. An account of facts, particularly of facts respecting nations or states; a narration of events in the order in which they happened, with their causes and effects. History differs from annals. Annals relate simply the facts and events of each year, in strict chronological order, without any observations of the annalist. History regards less strictly the arrangement of events under each year, and admits the observations of the writer. This distinction however is not always regarded with strictness.

History is of different kinds, or treats of different subjects; as a history of government or political history; history of the christian church, or ecclesiastical history; history of war and conquests, or military history; history of law; history of commerce; history of the crusades, etc. In these and similar examples, history is written narrative or relation. What is the history of nations, but a narrative of the follies, crimes and miseries of man?

1. Narration; verbal relation of facts or events; story. We listen with pleasure to the soldier or the seaman, giving a history of his adventures.

What histories of toil could I declare?

2. Knowledge of facts and events.

History--is necessary to divines.

3. Description; an account of things that exist; as natural history, which comprehends a description of the works of nature, particularly of animals, plants and minerals; a history of animals, or zoology; a history of plants.

4. An account of the origin, life and actions of an individual person. We say, we have a concise history of the prisoner in the testimony offered to the court.

A formal written account of an individual’s life, is called biography.

HISTORY-PIECE, n. A representative of any remarkable event in painting, which exhibits the actors, their actions, and the attending events to the eye, by figures drawn to the life. This species of painting is called historical painting.

HISTRION, n. A player. [Not in use.]

HISTRIONIC, HISTRIONICAL, a. [L. histrionicus, from histrio, a buffoon, an actor, or stage player.]

Pertaining to a buffoon or comedian, or to a pantomime, who represents events or characters by gestures and dancing; belonging to stage-playing; befitting a theater; theatrical.

HISTRIONICALLY, adv. In the manner of a buffoon or pantomime; theatrically.

HISTRIONISM, n. The acts or practice of buffoons or pantomimes; stage-playing.

HIT, v.t. pret. and pp. hit.

1. To strike or touch, either with or without force. We hit a thing with the finger, or with the head; a cannon ball hits a mast, or a wall.

2. To strike or touch, either with or without force. We hit a thing with the finger, or with the head; a cannon ball hits a mast, or a wall.

The archers hit him. 1 Samuel 31:3.

3. To reach; to attain to.

Birds learning tunes, and their endeavors to hit the notes right--

4. To suit; to be conformable.

--Melancholy,

Whose saintly visage is too bright

To hit the sense of human sight.

5. To strike; to touch properly; to offer the right bait.

There you hit him--that argument never fails with him.

To hit off, to strike out; to determine luckily.

1. To represent or describe exactly.

To hit out, to perform by good luck. [Little used.]

HIT, v.i. To strike; to meet or come in contact; to clash; followed by against or on.

If bodies be mere extension, how can they move and hit one against another.

Corpuscles meeting with or hitting on those bodies, become conjoined with them.

1. To meet or fall on by good luck; to succeed by accident; not to miss.

And oft it hits

Where hope is coldest, and despair most fits.

2. To strike or reach the intended point; to succeed.

And millions miss for one that hits.

To hit on or upon, to light on; to come to or fall on by chance; to meet or find, as by accident.

None of them hit upon the art.

HIT, n. A striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke or blow that touches any thing.

So he the famed Cilician fencer prais’d,

And at each hit with wonder seems amaz’d.

1. A chance; a casual event; as a lucky hit.

2. A lucky chance; a fortunate event.

3. A term in back-gammon. Three hits are equal to a gammon.

HIT, v.i.

1. To move by jerks, or with stops; as, in colloquial language, to hitch along.

Whoe’er offends, at some unlucky time

Slides in a verse, or hitches in a rhyme.

2. To become entangled; to be caught or hooked.

3. To hit the legs together in going, as horses. [Not used in the U. States.]

4. To hop; to spring on one leg. [Local.]

5. To move or walk.

HITCH, v.t. To hook; to catch by a hook; as, to hitch a bridle.

1. To fasten by hitching; as, to hitch a horse by a bridle, or to hitch him to a post.

HITCH, n. A catch; any thing that holds, as a hook; an impediment.

1. The act of catching, as on a hook, etc.

2. In seamen’s language, a knot or noose in a rope for fastening it to a ring or other object; as a clove hitch; a timber hitch, etc.

3. A stop or sudden halt in walking or moving.

HITCHED, pp. Caught; hooked; fastened.

HITCHEL, v.t. To hatchel. [Not used. See Hatchel.]

HITHE, n. A port or small haven; as in Queenhithe, and Lambhithe, now Lambeth.

HITHER, adv.

1. To this place; used with verbs signifying motion; as, to come hither; to proceed hither; to bring hither.

2. Hither and thither, to this place and that.

3. To this point; to this argument or topic; to this end. [Little used and not to be encouraged.]

Hither we refer whatever belongs to the highest perfection of man.

HITHER, a. Nearest; towards the person speaking; as on the hither side of a hill; the hither end of the building.

HITHERMOST, a. Nearest on this side.

HITHERTO, adv. To this time; yet.

The Lord hath blessed me hitherto. Joshua 17:14.

1. In any time, or every time till now; in time preceding the present.

2. To this place; to a prescribed limit.

Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further. Job 38:11.

HITHERWARD, HITHERWARDS, adv. This way; towards this place.

A puissant and mighty power--

Is marching hitherward in proud array.

HIVE, n.

1. A box, chest or kind of basket for the reception and habitation of a swarm of honey-bees. It is made of boards, straw or other materials.

2. A swarm of bees; or the bees inhabiting a hive.

3. A company or society together, or closely connected. [Unusual.]

HIVE, v.t. To collect into a hive; to cause, to enter a hive; as, to hive bees.

1. To contain; to receive, as a habitation, or place of deposit.

Where all delicious sweets are hived.

HIVE, v.i. To take shelter or lodging together; to reside in a collective body.

HIVED, pp. Lodged in a hive or shelter.

HIVER, n. One that collects bees into a hive.

HIVES, n. A disease, the croup, or cynanche trachealis; rattles.

HO, exclam. A word used by teamsters, to stop their teams. It has been used as a noun, for stop, moderation, bounds.

There is no ho with them. The word is pronounced also who, or hwo.

HO, HOA, exclam. [L. eho.] A call to excite attention, or to give notice of approach.

What noise there, ho?

Hoa, who’s within?

HOAR, a.

1. White; as hoar frost; hoar cliffs.

2. Gray; white with age; hoary; as a matron grave and hoar.

HOAR, n. Hoariness; antiquity.

HOAR, v.i. To become moldy or musty. [Little used.]

HOAR-FROST, n. The white particles of ice formed by the congelation of dew or watery vapors.

HOARD, n. A store, stock or large quantity of any thing accumulated or laid up; a hidden stock; a treasure; as a hoard of provisions for winter; a hoard of money.

HOARD, v.t. To collect and lay up a large quantity of any thing; to amass and deposit in secret; to store secretly; as, to hoard grain or provisions; to hoard silver and gold.

It is sometimes followed by up, but without use; as, to hoard up provisions.

HOARD, v.i. To collect and form a hoard; to lay up store.

Nor cared to hoard for those whom he did breed.

HOARDED, pp. Collected and laid up in store.

HOARDER, n. One who lays up in store; one who accumulates and keeps in secret.

HOARDING, ppr. Laying up in store.

1. Instinctively collecting and laying up provisions for winter; as, the squirrel is a hoarding animal.

HOARED, a. Moldy; musty. [Not in use.]

HOARHOUND. [See Horehound.]

HOARINESS, n. [from hoary.] The state of being white, whitish or gray; as the hoariness of the hair or head of old men.

HOARSE, a. hors.

1. Having a harsh, rough, grating voice, as when affected with a cold.

2. Rough; grating; discordant; as the voice, or as any sound. We say, the hoarse raven; the hoarse resounding shore.

HOARSELY, adv. With a rough, harsh, grating voice or sound.

HOARSENESS, n. Harshness or roughness of voice or sound; preternatural asperity of voice.

HOARY, n. [See Hoar.] White or whitish; as the hoary willows.

1. White or gray with age; as hoary hairs; a hoary head.

Reverence the hoary head.

2. Moldy; mossy, or covered with a white pubescence.