I. ˈhīd noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hyde, from Old English hīgid, hīd; akin to Old English hīwan members of a household — more at home
: any of various old English units of land area ; especially : a unit of 120 acres used in the Domesday Book — see carucate , sulung
II. verb
( hid ˈhid ; hidden ˈhid ə n ; or hid ; hiding ˈhīdiŋ ; hides ˈhīdz)
Etymology: Middle English hiden, from Old English hȳdan; akin to Middle Irish codal skin, Greek keuthein to conceal, Sanskrit kuhara cave, Old English hȳd hide, skin — more at hide IV
transitive verb
1.
a. : to deposit in a place of concealment : put out of sight : secrete
hide a key under a doormat
b. : to conceal for shelter or protection : shield
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee — A.M.Toplady
2. : to withhold from someone or from public knowledge : keep secret
fled to her room to hide her grief — Andrew Meredith
to keep a secret, you must also hide the fact that you have one to keep — Piero Compton
3.
a. : to screen from view or from detection by the senses : cover up
a thick mantle of glacial deposits hides the solid rocks — L.D.Stamp
the purling water was nearly hidden by the birr of wings — Sacheverell Sitwell
sugar coating hides the taste of pills
b. : to submerge in something that makes comprehension difficult : bury 3b, obscure
pokes fun at some of his colleagues who hide their important messages in language only intelligible to other professors — Word Study
facts hidden in folklore
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to remain out of sight : become concealed
hid in the island bushes is a frigate — H.S.Canby
spongy bogs … hiding here and there in the woods — John Muir †1914
b. : to go into or remain in concealment to evade authority or pursuit
fewer places for violators to hide — Newsweek
— often used with out or up
people who do not wish to have any contact with the military government authorities are … hiding out on farms — Nora Waln
went back to the ranch kind of slow to give me time to hide up — C.T.Jackson
2. : to seek protection or evade responsibility : take refuge — usually used with behind
hides behind dark glasses, hoping to avoid being recognized
heads of companies who are not … gift-minded hide behind their boards of directors — Saturday Review
Synonyms: see conceal
•
- hide one's face from
- hide one's head
- hide one's light under a bushel
III. noun
( -s )
1. : a hiding place
knew his hide had to be very good to elude the scrutiny of the local liquor raiders — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
2. Britain : blind III 2
in shooting at driven lions it is best to wait until they have passed the hide — James Stevenson-Hamilton
IV. noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English hid, hide, from Old English hȳd; akin to Old High German hūt skin, hide, Old Norse hūth skin, hide, Latin cutis skin, Greek kytos hollow vessel, skytos skin, leather, Old Prussian keuto shell, covering, Sanskrit skunāti he covers; basic meaning: to cover, conceal
1.
a. : the outer covering of an animal : coat
bald patches of rock like the hide of a bison when it is shedding — Norman Mailer
b. : a raw or tanned pelt taken from an adult of one of the larger animals (as a cow) as distinguished from a skin of one of the smaller or younger animals (as a goat or calf)
calfskins … produce a softer leather than cattle hides — G.S.Brady
c. : a piece of dressed pelt used as material for a manufactured article : leather
ladies' luggage set, in English hide — advt
2.
a. : the skin of a human being
he had a certain hard brownness of hide … a horny quality in his face and hands — Arthur Morrison
much of the industrial plant was doubtless built out of the hides of the people — W.O.Douglas
b. : a covering aspect or front that gives protection against outside pressure
too tough a hide to have hurt feelings
c. : life
such strategy often saved the hide of the Grand Old Party — Dixon Wecter
•
- hide or hair
V. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to give a beating to : flog
victualed him and clothed him and hided him for his own good when he needed it — S.H.Adams