| 释义 |
▪ I. † holk, n. Obs.
[OE. holca or ? holc, deriv. of hol, holl a.: cf. LG. holke, hölke small hole, Sw. hålk.]
? A hollow, cavity.
c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 148 On þam holcum þæs lichoman. Ibid. 160 On þam holcum þære lifre. a1240Sawles Warde 251 Ed ehnen, ant ed neauele, ant ed te breoste holke.
▪ II. holk, howk, v. Now dial.|həʊk, haʊk|
Forms: 4–6 holk(e, 7–9 hoke, huck, Sc. 7–9 howk, 9 houk.
[Northern ME. holk, cognate with MLG. holken, LG. holken, hölken, to hollow, Sw. hålka; f. root of holl a., with dim. formative -k: cf. talk.]
1. trans. To hollow out by digging; to excavate; to dig out or up. With various spec. local senses: see quots.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1222, [He] holkked out his auen yȝen heterly boþe. 1483Cath. Angl. 187/2 To Holke, palare. 1513Douglas æneis i. vii. 18 Ȝonder wther sum the new havin holkis. 1552Lyndesay Monarche 1702 Sum holkit claye, sum brynt the tylde. 1573Sempill in Satir. Poems Reform. xxxix. 270 Hes scho not helpit to holk out ȝone Tod? 1686G. Stuart Joco-ser. Disc. 47 Who howks a hole for any other His sel' fau' in were he my brother. 1780A. Young Tour Irel. I. 261 They bring up their children to hoking potatoes. 1798J. Jefferson Let. to J. Boucher 19 Mar. (MS.), Huck, to pick out any thing with an instrument, as to huck a thorn out of the finger. 1805Sporting Mag. XXVI. 75 I'll away up to the kirk-yard, and howk a few graves. 1880Antrim & Down Gloss., Hoke, to hollow-out anything, such as a toy boat. A dog hokes out the earth from a rabbit hole. 1891Hall Caine Scapegoat xviii, To howk out her grave with his own hands. 1899A. Werner Captain of Locusts 160 They howked a grave near the kraal, and buried their chief pro tem. 1926D. H. Lawrence Let. 28 Dec. (1932) 676 We shall stay here if not howked out. 1950B. Marshall Every Man a Penny xlix. 229 Deep in their trenches the hairy men stood, howking out the brown earth. 1955E. Pound Classic Anthol. ii. 90 Howk 'em up with a landing scoop.
2. intr. To dig, make excavation, turn things up.
1513Douglas æneis vi. ix. 139 Vndir his cost holkand in weill law. 1825Brockett, Howk, to dig, to scoop. 1834Blackw. Mag. XXXV. 874 He will lie upon his master's grave, and..howk wi' his paws. 1893Crockett Stickit Minister 118 He was howkin' up in the garret twa efternoons last week. 1906Kipling Puck of Pook's Hill 69 Dan hiked and howked with a boat-hook (the brook was too narrow for sculls). 1950John o' London's 24 Nov. 621/1 The solan goose..starts howking and pecking at the rope which sustains the climber.
Hence holked, -et, -it ppl. a. (a) Excavated, dug out or up; † (b) Sunken, depressed, hollow. holking vbl. n. and ppl. a., excavating, burrowing.
c1420Anturs of Arth. 116 (Thornton) Hir eghne ware holkede fulle holle. a1500P. Johnston Thre Deid Powis iii, Full laithly thus sall ly thy lusty heid Holkit and how. 1508Dunbar Flyting w. Kennedie 164 Ffor hiddowis, haw, and holkit is thyne ee. 1552Lyndesay Monarche 1528 Holkit Glennis, and hie montanis. 1785Burns Addr. to Deil ix, They..in kirk-yards renew their leagues, Owre howkit dead. 1850W. Allingham Poems 116 In thy bed of clay the howking mole Bores no tunnel thorough.
▪ III. holk
obs. form of hulk n. |