— hoofiness , n. — hoofless , adj. — hooflike , adj.
/hoof, hoohf/ , n. , pl. hoofs or hooves for 1, 2, 4; hoof for 3, 5; v.
n.
1. the horny covering protecting the ends of the digits or encasing the foot in certain animals, as the ox and horse. See diag. under horse .
2. the entire foot of a horse, donkey, etc.
3. Older Use. a hoofed animal, esp. one of a herd.
4. Informal. the human foot.
5. on the hoof , (of livestock) not butchered; live: The city youngsters were seeing lambs on the hoof for the first time.
v.t.
6. Slang. to walk (often fol. by it ): Let's hoof it to the supermarket.
v.i.
7. Slang. to dance, esp. to tap-dance: He's been hoofing at the Palladium.
[ bef. 1000; ME (n.); OE hof; c. OFris hof, D hoef, G Huf, ON hofr; cf. Skt saphas ]