I. ˈhaknē, -ni noun
Etymology: Middle English hakeney, hakenai, probably from Hakeneye Hackney, formerly a town, now a metropolitan borough of London, England
1. -s
a. : a horse suitable for ordinary riding or driving : nag
b. : a trotting horse used chiefly for driving
2.
a. usually capitalized : a breed of rather compact usually chestnut, bay, or brown horses with a conspicuously high knee and hock flexion in stepping that originated in and about Norfolk, England as a result of interbreeding local trotting mares with Thoroughbred and Arabian sires
b. -s often capitalized : a horse of this breed
3. -s
a. obsolete : a horse or pony kept for hire
b. obsolete : one that works for hire : drudge , slave
c. obsolete : prostitute
4. -s : a carriage or automobile kept for hire : hack , cab
[s]hackney.jpg[/s] [
hackney 2a
]
II. adjective
1. : kept for public hire
hackney cab
hackney carriage
2. : hackneyed
3. archaic : done or suitable for doing by a drudge
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1.
a. : to make common or frequent use of (as a horse) : wear out in common service
b. : to make trite, vulgar, or commonplace
2. obsolete : to drive hard : wear out by driving
3. archaic
a. : to make coarse (the sensibilities)
b. : to make sophisticated or jaded (as through worldly experience)
hackneyed as he was in the ways of life — Tobias Smollett