hod
nounEtymology
Probably an alteration of hot (“(Northern England, Scotland) large basket for carrying earth, etc.”), from Middle English hott, hote, hotte (“large basket or pannier for carrying earth, etc.; unit of measure for grain; hut or shed (perhaps originally of wattlework); lump of dirt (?)”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman and Old French hote, hotte (“large basket carried on the back”) (modern French hotte (“carrying basket”)), from Frankish *hotta (“basket”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *hud- (“to shake”) (see further at etymology 1), ultimately an onomatopoeia of the swaying movement of such a basket (compare Middle Dutch hotten (“to jolt; shake”)). Cognates German Hotte (“wooden basket carried on the back; (specifically) basket for collecting grapes from a vineyard”) (Rhineland, Swabia), Hutte (“basket for collecting grapes from a vineyard”) (Alsace, Switzerland) Late Latin hotta, hottus (“hod”)
A three-sided box mounted on a pole for carrying bricks, mortar, or other construction materials over the shoulder.
- Oiſeau: […] a Hodd; the Tray vvherein Maſons, &c, carrie their Mortar.1611, Randle Cotgrave, compiler, “Oiseau”, in A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, signature Lll, recto, column 1:
- And then Arthur and I, we soon drew our hods / And we scarce gave them time for to draw their own blades / When a trusty shillelagh came over their heads / And bade them take that as fair warning.c. 1810?, “Arthur MacBride”, in Patrick Crotty, editor, The Penguin Book of Irish Poetry (Penguin Classics), London; New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, published 2012, →ISBN, part IX (Songs and Ballads since 1801), stanza 6, page 924:
4 more examples
- Alas, so it is everywhere, so it will ever be; till the Hod[-]man is discharged, or reduced to hodbearing; and an Architect is hired, and on all hands fitly encouraged:[…][1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Pedagogy”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 2nd book, page 73:
- Independent candidate, who wants the Irish vote and Dutch suffrages, entered, borne in a mortar hod, bare-footed, with a shillelagh in one hand, a whiskey bottle in the other, a Dutch pipe in his mouth, and a small barrel of beer strapped to his back.1855, Q. K. Philander Doesticks [pseudonym], “’Lection Day.—‘Paddy’ versus ‘Sam.’”, in Doesticks: What He Says, New York, N.Y.: Edward Livermore, […], →OCLC, page 277:
- Make your son a shoemaker,—a bricklayer,—or give him no more education than shall fit him to carry a hod,—and with patience and industry he may make a fortune, and he may do it with uninjured feelings; […]1865, A[mbrose] H[ardinge] Giffard, Edward Giffard, Who Was My Grandfather?: An Autobiographical Sketch, London: […] Harrison and Sons, […], →OCLC, page 13:
- A fork and a hooke, to be tampring in claie, / a lath hammer, trowel, a hod, or a traie.1878, Thomas Tusser, “A Digression to Husbandlie Furniture”, in Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., […], →OCLC; republished as W[illiam] Payne, Sidney J[ohn Hervon] Herrtage, editors, Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., […], 1878, →OCLC, stanza 16, page 37:
The amount of material held by a hod (sense 1); a hodful.
- [T]he women do the hardest work—carry hods of mortar, unload vessels, drive oxen, &c. …1867 May, “a vacation tourist” [pseudonym], “Passing Notes on Our Neighbours”, in Temple Bar: A London Magazine for Town and Country Readers, volume XX, London: Richard Bentley, […]; New York, N.Y.: Willmer and Rogers, published July 1867, →OCLC, page 179:
A blowpipe used by a pewterer.
- The pewterers employ a very peculiar modification of the blowpipe, which may be called the hot-air blast, and the names for which apparatus are no less peculiar; a fig. 313, being called the hod, and b, the gentleman. The first is a common cast-iron pot with a close cover, containing ignited charcoal; two nozzles lead into and from it, to allow the passage of a stream of air, through the pipe c, from bellows worked by the foot.1843, Charles Holtzapffel, “Soldering”, in Turning and Mechanical Manipulation. Intended as a Work of General Reference and Practical Instruction, on the Lathe, and the Various Mechanical Pursuits Followed by Amateurs, volumes I (Materials; […]), London: […] Holtzapffel & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 449–450:
Hobbies, Horse racing, Horseracing, Horses, Lifestyle, Pets, Racing, Sports A bookmaker's bag.
- 'Clerking' is perhaps the most difficult and most admired job on a racecourse. The next time you see a bookmaker at his hod, waving his ticket-filled hands, shouting the odds, look to his left, just back a bit—out of the limelight. The bloke sitting there with his head buried deep in a ledger is the clerk.2006, Tommy Steele, chapter 6, in Bermondsey Boy: Memories of a Forgotten World, large print edition, Bath, Somerset: Windsor Paragon; BBC Audiobooks, published 2007, →ISBN, page 64:
US, Dialectal A receptacle for carrying coal, particularly one shaped like a bucket which is designed for loading coal or coke through the door of a firebox.
- […] Fanny, forgetful of her young-ladyism and her sixteen years, had boxed Tom's ears, and Tom, resenting the insult, had forcibly seated her in the coal-hod, where he held her with one hand while he returned the compliment with the other.1869–1870, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “New Fashions”, in An Old-Fashioned Girl, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1870, →OCLC, page 31:
- My friend comes home and finds his dressing-gown and slippers in front of the fire. He is tired and cross, and doesn't want to sling ashes nor bang a coal-hod. But the sight of the fire makes him feel better at once, and if there be no fire, there are no ashes.1884, John McGovern, “Wedded Life”, in The Golden Censer: Or, The Duties of To-day, the Hopes of the Future, Chicago, Ill.; Columbus, Oh.: Union Publishing House, →OCLC, page 266:
1 more example
- The household uses of copper are principally for cooking utensils and a variety of miscellaneous items, such as urns, bowls, hods, lamps, candlesticks, vases, book ends, and ash trays.1938, Raymond B[artlett] Stevens et al., “Copper Utensils and Hollow or Flat Plate”, in Trade Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom: Digests of Trade Data with Respect to Products on which Concessions Were Granted by the United States, volume IV, Washington, D.C.: United States Tariff Commission, →OCLC, page 3-42: