I. ˈhō noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hogh, from Old English hōh; probably akin to Old English hōh heel — more at hock IV
obsolete : promontory , hill , cliff — used in English place names
on the Hoe at Plymouth
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English howe, from Middle French houe, from Old French, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch houwe mattock, Old High German houwa; derivative from the verb represented by Old High German houwan to hew — more at hew
1.
a. : an agricultural implement that usually consists of a thin flat blade set transversely on a long handle and is used especially for cultivating, weeding, or loosening the earth around plants
b. : an implement that functions like a hoe and is arranged with a wheel and one or two handles for more rapid cultivation
c. : a one-horse tillage implement for cultivating between rows (as of vines or bushes)
a berry hoe
a grape hoe
d. : any of various cultivating or weeding implements usually for use with animal or mechanical draft — see rotary hoe , spring hoe , spring-trip hoe , wheel cultivator 2
2. : an implement or tool felt to resemble or serving a purpose like that of a hoe: as
a. : a rake designed for stirring up a furnace fire
b. : an instrument for spreading and mixing mortar, concrete, or similar substances
c. : backhoe
III. verb
( hoed ; hoed ; hoeing ; hoes )
Etymology: Middle English howwen, from howe, n.
intransitive verb
: to use a hoe : work with a hoe
was hoeing in the field by the road
transitive verb
: to weed, cultivate, or thin (a crop) with a hoe
hoe out the strawberries
: remove (weeds) by hoeing
soon have to hoe the weeds from the corn
: dress or cultivate (land) by hoeing
hoed 7 acres with a spring hoe
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: English dialect (Shetland) ho, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse hār dogfish, shark, tholepin — more at haye
chiefly Scotland : spiny dogfish