α. 1500s– chock, 1700s chok, 1800s choc, 1800s– chog.
β. 1700s–1800s choak.
Compare chuck n.4chockn.1
/tʃɒk/, U.S. /tʃɑk/ 1. A piece or block of wood; a log, a stump.In quot. a1582 in a shipbuilding context; cf. sense 4.
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society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > wood as fuel > [noun] > log
log1398
kinlinc1440
hud1483
chocka1582
logwood1666
backlog1684
back-brand1844
mock1844
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [noun] > block
blockc1305
clogc1440
chocka1582
chunk1781
wood-block1837
buntons1839
a1582 W. Bourne Inuentions or Deuises (?1590) iii. 4 Take a peece of wood of a seauen or eyght ynches long, and three or foure ynches thicke, whether it bee rounde or square it is all one matter,..so to haue for euery corner of the hatch, a bolte of yron, with a good broade head, and to be of length to goe through the hatch, the chockes of wodde endlong.
1784 J. Small Treat. Ploughs & Wheel Carriages 136 The stilt..may be of the shape expressed by the shaded part of the figure, with a chock of wood between it and the heel, and an iron bolt through it.
1836 Trans. Soc. Arts, Manuf., & Commerce 51 96 Herewith you will receive a chock of fir, a piece riven ready to be worked into the proper form.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Chock, Chog, a small log or block of wood.
1908 R. S. S. Baden-Powell Scouting for Boys 157 It [sc. squatting] comes easy if you put a sloping stone or chock of wood under your heels.
1936 T. Hennell Change in Farm (new ed.) iii. 32 Behind this ring is the linch-pin, secured from falling out of place by a ‘chog’ of wood keyed into the stock.
2003 Farmers Weekly (Nexis) 5 Dec. (Farmlife Suppl.) 1 In the woodlined smoke-house chocks of wood smoulder eight to 10 hours.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > part holding work
mandrel1664
chock1665
pike1680
centre plate1717
carrier1733
chuck1806
screw chuck1827
grip-knob1833
faceplate1837
surface chuck1842
jaw-chuck1874
turning-carrier1877
screw worm chuck1881
steady1885
roller steady1911
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia Pref. sig. E2 Into the end of this Mandril is screwed a Chock N, on which with Cement or Glew is fastned the piece of Glass.
1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. xi. 200 Sockets, or Chocks, belonging to the Screw-Mandrel.
1786 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 76 31 A stout mandrel, or arbor, for a chock Lathe.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 150 Chocks, cylindrical pieces of wood or iron, screw-cut at one end, to screw into the end of a mandrel.
1803 Ann. Reg. 1802 (Otridge ed.) Useful Products 780/2 Being afterwards strongly cemented to a plug or chock, [it] is screwed upon the lathe.
1822 T. Webster Imison's Elem. Sci. & Art (new ed.) II. 147 Place it on the collar at the chock end of the screw.
1915 Brit. Patent 21,472/1914 2 The latter [sc. circular pottery articles] are rotating on a suitable chock secured to a potter's lathe.
3. Nautical. A wooden or metal fitting on a ship’s deck or railing through which a line may be guided. Cf. fairlead n.
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1665 J. Yonge Jrnl. (1963) (modernized text) 63 The post and stern have great chocks in them, in which runs a good halser, made fast to our small bower anchor.
1837 F. Marryat Snarleyyow III. vii. 104 Vanslyperken..walked aft to the taffrail. He stood up on the choak to ascertain what way she was making through the water.
1860 P. H. Gosse Romance Nat. Hist. 260 In attempting to throw the line clear from the chock, a turn caught his left wrist.
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 26 Reeve it [sc. the end of the throat halyards] through the after sheave in the chock.
1891 Cent. Dict. Snatch cleat, a curved cleat or chock round which a rope may be led.
1908 Rudder Feb. 91/2 The various deck fittings, such as the ventilator, flag pole, sockets, chocks, etc., should be brass if the boat is to be nicely finished.
1975 Cruising World May 42/2 Aboard the James and Matthew, every cleat and chock is made of white oak, through-bolted to deck beams with 3/8″ bronze rods.
1988 Boating Jan. 124 Deck hardware is chrome plated and includes a cleat centered on the foredeck with chocks port and starboard.
2013 Manufacturing Close-up (Nexis) 31 July Owners of boats remaining in a marina berth can take precautions... Cover all lines at rough points or where lines feed through chocks to prevent chafing.
4. Shipbuilding.
a. A block of wood used to fill in a gap in a wooden vessel, esp. to fill in the angle and reinforce the joint between two timbers. Now historical.
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1711 W. Sutherland Ship-builders Assistant 159 Chok, a small piece of timber fitted to a larger to make out the substance required.
1776 J. Smeaton Reports (1812) II. 399 The intermediate spaces being filled up by drift wedges or chocks, the angles of which being somewhat obtuse, [etc.].
1821 Repertory of Arts 2nd Ser. 38 142 The introduction of the chocks assists in obtaining the required curve.
1876 Bent Timber Ships & Universal Wood Bending Machinery 17 When necessary to have a corner opposite the throat, it may be formed by a triangular chock.
1904 Jrnl. Amer. Soc. Naval Engineers Nov. 1049 The space around these bolts was completely filled with chocks.
2013 J. Adams Maritime Archaeol. Ships viii. 180/2 The triangular gap is therefore filled with a chock.
b. spec. A block of wood used to connect and support the beams and timbers of a wooden vessel, often as a substitute for grown timber knees (knee n. 7a). Now historical.
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1814 R. Pering Reply Strictures on Indian-built Ships 49 Her beams being secured with chocks and plates, which were lighter than her original knees.
1832 Edinb. Encycl. (U.S. ed.) XVII. 281 A compact iron knee attached at the one end to a chock supporting the shelfpiece.
1920 E. W. Blocksidge Ships' Boats iv. 159 Solid chocks of hard wood are fitted between the timbers in way of the thwart knees, breast-hooks, and crutches.
1987 P. Goodwin Constr. & Fitting Eng. Man of War p. x At the end of the eighteenth century these knees were modified into a form of chock fitted directly below the beam which it supported.
2000 R. Gardiner Frigates of Napoleonic Wars iv. 39 The most widely used [fastening scheme] was a combination of wooden chocks and Roberts's plate knees.
5.
a. gen. (originally Nautical). A block or wedge of wood or other material used to confine, secure, or steady an object (originally esp. on board a ship or boat), or to prop or keep something in position.anchor chock, rudder chock, windlass chock, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > supporting blocks > chock
trig1647
chock1769
chuck1789
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Chock, a sort of wedge used to confine a cask, or other weighty body,..when the ship is in motion.
1775 N. D. Falck Philos. Diss. Diving Vessel 27 I secured them [sc. windlasses] in proper chocks on the gunnels of the barges.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 160 Chock, a square tapering piece of elm..used in strapping large blocks.
1813 Trans. Soc. Arts, Manuf., & Commerce 31 170 We..chocked the rudder up as well as we could (for there were no proper chocks fitted).
1861 Windsor Express 5 Oct. To remove the chocks or wedges connected with one of the lattice girders.
1875 Lanc. Gloss. Chock, a wedge for fastening the cart to the shafts.
1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby Chock, a wedge to keep the window from shaking.
1921 A. B. Reader tr. A. Tremblay Cruise of Minnie Maud xii. 267 We also steadied them [sc. casks] with wooden chocks nailed to the deck.
1932 ‘N. Shute’ Lonely Road iii. 48 The gun lay neatly on chocks on the bottom of the case.
1998 Yachting Oct. 52/2 Where safely to stow the windlass handle?.. We could have made wooden chocks fixed to the foredeck near the windlass.
1999 G. Bear Darwin's Radio lxv. 279 Mitch grabbed two suitcases and stood in the door, held open by a rubber chock.
b. Nautical. A shaped support or cradle for a boat (esp. a lifeboat on the deck of a ship, or a boat being repaired or refitted). Usually in plural.See also boat chock n. at boat n.1 Compounds 2.
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1796 W. Swinburn Log-bk. 21 Mar. in J. T. Callender Hist. U.S. for 1796 (1797) iv. 131 The Mermaid's boat came on board with a great many hands, hove the long boat out of the chocks, hoisted up twenty-two barrels of beef, [etc.].
1848 Graham's Mag. Mar. 133/2 Forward of the main hatchway the long-boat stands in its chocks, covered over with a roof.
1881 Daily Tel. 28 Jan. We had only one boat, and no tackles ready to lift her out of the chocks.
1921 Marine Rev. Mar. 156/1 The lifeboat..lies in two chocks, each consisting of two pieces rigidly fixed to the deck and providing a point of support to the movable part of the chock, which is mounted in rotary manner between the two fixed parts.
1982 Yachting Aug. 15/1 She was stripped and taken to Harbour House Marina, where she now rests in chocks awaiting new lumber from New Zealand.
2010 J. Clarke Reeds Superyacht Man. (ed. 2) v. 63 Modern arrangements allow for people to board from higher up while the lifeboat is secure in its chocks.
c. A block or wedge placed closely against the wheel of a vehicle, esp. an aircraft, to keep it stationary. Cf. chocks away at Phrases 2, scotch n.2 1b. (Now the usual sense.)
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society > travel > air or space travel > airfield or airport > [noun] > block placed under wheel of plane
chock1917
block1930
1841 Ordnance Man. for Use of Officers (U.S. Army Ordnance Dept.) 278 4 chocks for the wheels, and several small chocks or wedges for the rollers.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Chock, Chog, a block or stone used to chock, or scotch the wheel of a cart or waggon.
1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings 16 The chocks were pulled clear, and away and up raced the machine.
1948 S. J. Perelman Westward Ha! iii. 34 Several longshoremen deftly lashed down an automobile, swathing it in tarpaulins and bracing its wheels with chocks.
1960 ‘Miss Read’ Fresh from Country (1962) v. 59 The nearest he ever got to an aeroplane was pulling the chocks away.
1983 M. Coney Cat Karina i. 16 He..jammed a chock under the rear wheel to prevent the car rolling back.
2008 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 16 Feb. (Weekend section) 17 This was as about as useful as learning how to take off in an aeroplane, without first having learned how to remove the chocks.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > ponderable matter > that which is heavy or a heavy mass > used on account of its weight > specific
pea1671
Hercules1794
chock1842
sinker1852
1842 G. W. Francis Dict. Arts (at cited word) The stones with which a mangle is filled are chocks, so also is the weight rested upon a bush barrow—upon a bellows, &c.
7. Mining. Originally: a block of wood used to support the roof of a mine; spec. one of a set of thick planks stacked crosswise in layers to form a cuboid roof support; (also) the support so formed. Now chiefly: a roof support consisting of hydraulic legs mounted on a steel frame, which can be moved while continuing to support the roof by manipulation of the legs.Cf. earlier chock deal n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > prop or support
crown tree1449
punch1462
prop1613
slider1653
sole1653
yoking1653
stow-blade1681
pit-bar1708
fork1747
head tree1747
studdle1758
lock piece1778
pit-prop1794
puncheon1815
stow-fork1824
plank tubbing1839
sprag1841
gib1847
chock1853
Tom1858
bratticing1866
pack1867
breastboard1877
brattice1881
wall-plate1881
strap1883
stretcher1883
1853 Proc. North of Eng. Inst. Mining Engineers 6 May 4 The tram-road was laid down next the coal, and the chocks placed between the tram-road and the goaf, with props put in between the chocks when required.
1857 Mining Mag. Dec. 501 The chocks consist of hard wood, and should be about 2 feet long, 8 inches broad, and 6 inches thick: they are built up, two upon two, crosswise.
1885 Times 10 July 10 A lighted candle placed against a chock in the working place of John Dyke.
1911 Act 1 & 2 George V c. 50 §50 (1) Props and bars or chocks are used to support the roof at the working face.
1963 New Scientist 4 July 16/1 At Newstead [Colliery] the chocks are five-legged and at Ormonde they are three-legged... All these chocks can be remotely controlled.
1973 Times 9 Aug. 2/7 Chocks supporting the coal face collapsed and a whole piece of the roof seemed to slide downhill.
2008 P. Corke et al. in B. Siciliano & O. Khatib Springer Handbk. of Robotics xlix. 1141/2 The chocks release from the roof, advance under hydraulic power into the cavity created by the removal of the coal,..and resupport the roof.
8. Mountaineering. A stone or rock wedged in a vertical cleft, esp. when used as a belay or hold; = chockstone n. at Compounds; (now also) a metal (usually aluminium) wedge with an attached wire or rope loop which is inserted into a crack in a rock face as a belay or hold. Cf. nut n.1 17d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > a stone > [noun] > other stones
loys1295
anthracites1535
rockstone?1545
stone-glass1585
milkstone1598
fieldstone1649
pebble1669
ballstone1726
grain-stone1756
knablick1757
found stone1800
sitfast1809
graptolite1838
bumble1839
hardhead1849
chock1894
chockstone1894
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > mountaineering or climbing > [noun] > artificial aid > types of
runner1688
runner ring1791
ice axec1800
alpenstock1829
rope1838
climbing-iron1857
piolet1868
snap-link1875
prickera1890
middleman('s) knot (also loop, noose, etc.)1892
chock1894
glacier-rope1897
piton1898
run-out1901
belaying-pin1903
snap-ring1903
ironmongery1904
line1907
Tricouni1914
ice claw1920
peg1920
sling1920
ice piton1926
ice hammer1932
karabiner1932
rock piton1934
thread belay1935
mugger1941
running belay1941
piton hammer1943
sky-hook1951
etrier1955
pied d'éléphant1956
rope sling1957
piton runner1959
bong1960
krab1963
rurp1963
ice screw1965
nut1965
traverse line1965
jumar1966
knife-blade1968
tie-off1968
rock peg1971
whammer1971
Whillans whammer1971
Whillans harness1974
1894 W. P. H. Smith Climbing in Brit. Isles I. 22 Chockstone, a northern word for a stone wedged between the sides of a gully. A short word for this is greatly needed, and I would suggest that it might be called a ‘chock’, simply.
1963 Alpine Jrnl. Nov. 226 Alan produced a tatty old line sling and wrapped it round a chock.
1985 Adv. Rockcraft 18 For a chock to work, it must form a good wedge, which simply means there must be sufficient taper in the crack below the chock to prevent it being ripped out.
2002 J. Simpson Beckoning Silence (2003) i. 6 He let his ice axe dangle from his wrist leash and unclipping a bunch of wires from his harness he tried to fiddle a small metal chock into a crack that he had spotted beneath the roof.
2007 Men's Fitness July 94 Chouinard began his business selling mountain hardware and revolutionised the rock-climbing world with the introduction of aluminium chocks (the things climbers jam in cracks to stop themselves falling to their deaths).
Phrases
P1.
chock and log adj. (and n.) originally and chiefly Australian (now historical) designating a kind of fence built of horizontal logs supported by wooden blocks; (also as n.) a fence of this kind.
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1862 Argus (Melbourne) 22 July 8/5 The two sides not having water frontage are chock and log fenced.
1863 Geelong (Austral.) Advertiser 27 Mar. Tenders wanted for erecting five miles chock and log fence.
1879 Emigration to Tasmania 85 I think the ‘choc and log’ a better fence.
1917 Bull. (Sydney) 19 Apr. 24/4 I..found old Pat seated on the ‘chock an' log’.
1984 A. G. Noble Wood, Brick, & Stone II. 120/3 Chock-and-log fences..were common enough in the colonial period in the Hudson valley.
2005 Agric. Hist. 79 35 In the heavily forested Gippsland region of eastern Victoria, pioneer settlers used log or chock and log fences on the boundaries of their newly cleared farms.
P2. Originally and chiefly British. chocks away: (originally) a call (used by R.A.F. pilots in the Second World War) for the chocks (sense 5c) of an aircraft to be removed prior to taking off; (later with allusion to this) used to indicate that a person is ready to begin; ‘here we go’, ‘let's go’, often with (sometimes ironic) connotations of carefree daring.
ΚΠ
1941 Aeroplane 21 Feb. 237/1 A waving hand—it's ‘Chocks away!’
1959 G. Slatter Gun in my Hand 197 Wizard show. Chocks away. Here we go, old boy.
1978 Times 6 June 11/6 At 6.40, he served to Vilas. Chocks away.
1991 Photo Answers May 5/1 It's Chocks away with Sean ‘Biggles’ Hargrave as he pays us a flying visit and blitzes loads more readers' pics.
1993 S. McAughtry Touch & Go xxix. 227 She pushed Dicky to me. I put my arms around him. ‘Chocks away, Hughie,’ Dicky said.
1998 C. Chidgey In Fishbone Church (2000) 222 And he presses his finger on the end of the arm rest and begins to move up the stairs. ‘Chocks away!’ he calls.
2013 Independent (Nexis) 20 Oct. 20 Chocks away for an entertaining crime caper, involving the Ottoman Empire, an exiled Turkish prince, Russian spies, resurrection men, smuggled gems and murders galore.
Compounds
chock deal n. English regional (northern) Mining rare one of a number of planks used to line a shaft so as to prevent the influx of sand, gravel, etc.; cf. deal n.3 1a. [Perhaps so called on account of being wedged into place rather than placed on ledges.]
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1708 J. C. Compl. Collier 7 in T. Nourse Mistery of Husbandry Discover'd (ed. 3) Quick Sands..are often put through by Deals or Timber, for we lay choak Deals..which is Deales put in as fast, or all along, as we dig, the Sand, or Earth, that if possible we may keep the Sand..from getting in upon us.
1892 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words Choke deals (for chock-deals), deals fitted closely together so as to be caulked, if necessary, in sinking.
chockstone n. Mountaineering a stone or rock wedged in a vertical cleft, esp. when used as a belay or hold.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > a stone > [noun] > other stones
loys1295
anthracites1535
rockstone?1545
stone-glass1585
milkstone1598
fieldstone1649
pebble1669
ballstone1726
grain-stone1756
knablick1757
found stone1800
sitfast1809
graptolite1838
bumble1839
hardhead1849
chock1894
chockstone1894
1894 W. P. H. Smith Climbing in Brit. Isles I. 22 Chockstone, a northern word for a stone wedged between the sides of a gully.
1906 G. D. Abraham & A. P. Abraham Rock-climbing N. Wales vii. 149 A fine spiky handhold on one of the lower chockstones makes the passage up the left side comparatively safe and simple.
1924 J. Buchan Three Hostages xxi. 312 After a rather awkward chockstone, I came to a fork.
2002 Adventure Trav. Mar. 9/2 The climbing was also traditional:..bridging across steep corners whilst struggling to hammer in a wedge or tie a sling round a chockstone.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
chockn.2adv.2
/tʃɒk/, U.S. /tʃɑk/ Originally and chiefly English regional (chiefly midlands and Lancashire).
A. n.2
1. A children's game in which players attempt to pitch marbles into a hole; (also) the hole into which the marbles are pitched. Cf. chuck n.3 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > pitch and toss, etc. > [noun]
vanning1606
pitch-and-chuck1688
pitch-and-hustle1688
chuck-farthing1699
hustle-cap1709
chuck1711
pitch-and-toss1721
pitch-farthing1737
pitch1745
chock1819
pinch1828
pitch-penny1830
chuck-hole1837
chuck-halfpenny1838
toss-halfpenny1848
three-up1851
chuck-button1863
toss-penny1874
toss and catch1904
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > marbles > [noun] > type of game
taw1709
chock1819
ring taw1828
knucks1840
spannims1847
three-holes1853
knuckle-down1859
bonce1862
spanners1881
stonk1896
1819–20 J. Clare Sunday (Peterborough MS B2) There they their games & rural sports pursue Wi chock & marbles wearing sunday thro.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words I. 116 Chock or Chock-hole, a game at marbles played by chocking or pitching marbles into a hole made for this purpose, instead of shooting at a ring.
1896 G. F. Northall Warwickshire Word-bk. (at cited word) The game of ‘chock’ or ‘chockhole’, in which the players attempt to pitch the marbles in a hole.
1946 Countryman Summer 255 Varieties of games were: spangle, kypie, ringie,..chub, chock, chuck hole, chucket hole, [etc.].
2005 T. Collins in T. Collins et al. Encycl. Trad. Brit. Rural Sports 182/1 ‘Chock’ is a version of marbles in which the aim is to get the marble into a hole, rather than hitting other marbles.
2009 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 11 July 16 When we tired of whip and top there would always be a ready-made chock outside every front gate for a game of marbles.
2. An obstruction, rut, etc., in a road or track. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1845 W. Mackenzie Diary 10 Apr. (2000) 328 During the whole Journey the greater part of all the towns were shameful roads full of chocks.
1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire Chock, an inequality, roughness in a road. ‘The road was full o' chocks.’
B. adv.2
With a jolt. rare.Perhaps influenced by chock int.
ΚΠ
1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire 144 Chock..is also used quasi-adverbially = joltingly. ‘Theer yo gon chock (or chick-chock) o'er a stone.’
Compounds
chock-hole n. (a) an obstruction or rut in a road or track; (now esp.) a pothole; cf. sense A. 2, chuck-hole n. (now chiefly U.S.); (b) = sense A. 1.
ΚΠ
1848 Blackburn Standard 18 Oct. The off wheel went against a small chock-hole in the street, by which means the cart was upset.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words I. 116 Chock or Chock-hole, a game at marbles played by chocking or pitching marbles into a hole made for this purpose, instead of shooting at a ring.
a1864 J. Clare Midsummer Cushion (1990) 211 The time-killing lonly shepherd boys..Their chockholes form & chalk their marble ring.
1873 Arthur's Illustr. Home Mag. Mar. 187/2 Just then one forewheel of the buggy went down into a chock-hole at the lower end of the bridge, and threw them both forward with a jerk.
1922 Lumber 24 Feb. 18/1 The road along the Clackamas is very rough and full of chock holes.
1980 Garden City (Kansas) Telegram 16 Apr. 4/5 My complaint about chock-holes in Ransom City Streets.
2005 T. Collins in T. Collins et al. Encycl. Trad. Brit. Rural Sports 182/1 ‘Chock’..is also known as ‘chock hole’, ‘dumps’ and ‘hoilakes’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
chockn.3
/tʃɒk/, U.S. /tʃɑk/ A short hollow sound, such as that produced by hammering or chopping, by a heavy object striking a hard surface, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > non-resonance > [noun] > hollowness > hollow sound
chock1877
whunk1935
plip1941
1877 Lippincott's Mag. Feb. 234/2 Listening, they could hear the chock of the oars.
1899 G. W. Steevens In India xix. 184 A distant tapping sharpens into the chock-chock of axes.
1922 ‘K. Mansfield’ Garden Party 72 And now there came the chock-chock of wooden hammers.
1954 W. Faulkner Fable (1955) 228 The dreamy chock of the woodcutter's axe.
1989 P. Mayle Year in Provence (1990) 119 Heavy, dense, gleaming spheres of steel that made a satisfying chock when tapped together.
2013 M. O'Donnell Barefaced Doctor 156 Others lay in summer shade, listening to the chock of leather upon willow.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
chockadj.
/tʃɒk/, U.S. /tʃɑk/ Originally English regional (northern and midlands).
In predicative use. Completely full; crammed with. Cf. chock-full adj., chock-a-block adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > [adjective] > full > full to the brim
brerd-fullc1000
bret-fullc1200
staff-fulla1400
chock-fullc1440
brimful1530
brink-full1553
top-full1553
brim-charged1582
bankfullc1600
crowned1603
full-brimmed1614
brimmed1624
teemful1673
brimming1697
stock-full1782
throat-fulla1800
jam-full1835
cram-full1837
stodge-full1847
chockc1850
top-filled1860
c1850 J. P. Robson Songs Bards of Tyne 77 Ivery nuik was chock.
1881 S. Evans Evans's Leicestershire Words (new ed.) (at cited word) The reum wur that chock, ah couldn' git anoigh anew to 'ear 'im.
1907 Rudder Dec. 947/2 My head is chock to the hatches with ideas for making it better.
2013 C. Wade Seven Locks i. 6 The forest was not so thick with trees and vines that you could not find your way through it, but it was chock with stone as blue as water.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
chockv.1
/tʃɒk/, U.S. /tʃɑk/ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > placing or fact of being placed in (a) position > insertion or putting in > insert [verb (intransitive)] > fit in exactly
chocka1661
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Cambr. 149 The wood-work..exactly chocketh into the joynts again.
1786 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 76 43 A small cylinder of hard steel..made of a size so as just to chock in betwixt the extremities of the teeth.
2. transitive. To supply or fit with a chock or chocks (in various senses of chock n.1); to wedge in place; esp. to block or wedge (esp. a wheel or other rolling object) so as to prevent from moving or slipping. Also with up, in, open. Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > render immobile [verb (transitive)] > stop the movement of > by blocking or wedging
coin1580
cog1635
stick1635
quoin1637
scotch1642
sufflaminate1656
choke1712
chock1726
jam1851
sprag1878
snibble1880
cotch1925
1726 Four Years Voy. Capt. G. Roberts 270 They would lay the Piece along, and chock it fast with Stones.
1827 S. Reynolds Jrnl. 4 Apr. (1989) I. 180 Found it to be the Rosalie Capt Gardner—with his Rudder chocked—So as to be unmanageable only on one side.
1854 J. R. Bartlett Personal Narr. Explor. & Incidents I. xii. 296 It was only by putting a shoulder to the wheels, and chocking them at every five or six feet, that these hills could be surmounted.
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 64 The casks are..well chocked up with firewood.
1862 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (ed. 9) 103 Chock the wheels of the light guns.
1868 Putnam's Mag. June 668/2 I found afterward she had all her clothes and mine [in the truck] and then she'd chock'd in all around with maple sugar.
1882 G. S. Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 60 Have the waist netting well chocked and shored up.
1909 Bulletin (Sydney) 16 Dec. 13/3 Chocking one of the wheels of bullock-dray with his big mundoeys.
1957 P. White Voss viii. 178 The station-owner had torn the boards off Homer to chock the leg of the table.
1996 S. King Desperation iii. v. 484 All the doors leading into the auditorium had been chocked open.
2003 Daily Tel. 1 Aug. 40/6 Depending on where a plane is parked, different staff chock the wheels.
3. transitive. Nautical. To support (a boat) on chocks (chock n.1 5b).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [verb (transitive)] > place boat on chocks on ship
chock1840
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxiv. 76 We got..the launch and pinnace hoisted, chocked, and griped.
1889 W. C. Russell Romance of Jenny Harlowe 205 The men got the pinnace..and chocked her on to a level keel, that she might lift fair when the water came.
1910 Internat. Marine Engin. Dec. 521/1 The way they [sc. lifeboats] are placed and chocked on deck.
2007 Irish Times (Nexis) 15 June 24 He saw a yacht chocked on a harbour wall.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
chockadv.1
/tʃɒk/, U.S. /tʃɑk/α. 1700s– chock.
β. 1800s choke.
1. As closely or tightly as possible; as far as possible; so as to allow no gap; directly. Now rare.
a. Used for emphasis with prepositions, esp. against, to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement towards a thing, person, or position > [adverb] > as close or tight as possible
chuck1751
chock1768
the world > space > distance > nearness > [adverb] > contiguously > into close contact or close against
toc1200
homea1555
chock1768
chock-a-block1824
jam1825
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > [adverb] > tightly or closely
narroweOE
straitc1200
straitly1338
sore1377
short1533
nearly1587
strictly1641
snug1674
chock1768
snugly1800
1768 H. Maclean Hist. & Trav. ii. 14 The Top-sail went aloft faster than tho' twenty Men had been hoisting, till it was quite chock to the Block.
1798 Middlesex Gaz. (Middletown, Connecticut) 23 Mar. 2/1 They whip up the cattle to drag it up-hill, We throw down obstructions chock under the wheel.
1834 H. Taylor Philip van Artevelde ii. iii. i I drew a shaft Chock to the steel, and..Aimed it at Serjeant Laubscher's heart.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxvii. 361 A newly-broken team-dog..carried one of the runners chock against the edge of the circle.
1880 A. D. Whitney Odd or Even? xiii. 103 Seized up a great stone, and crowded it chock against the grinding, slipping wheel.
1921 D. Coolidge Man-killers xx. 169 They sighted a house..and chock against it was a corral where two jaded ponies stood drooping inside the bars.
b. Chiefly Nautical. Used for emphasis with adverbs, esp. aft, home, up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > distance > nearness > near by [phrase] > close against
to the hard ——c1400
chock1782
1782 D. Lowellin Admirable Trav. 13 If we took the infection to lower the pendent half-mast, but to keep it chock up while our health continued, without approaching nearer than the limits prescribed, [etc.].
1799 Naval Chron. 2 71 The small block is chock up to the truck.
1819 W. Scoresby Jrnl. 19 Aug. in C. I. Jackson Arctic Whaling Jrnls. (2009) III. 130 From chock aft to N° 2, or letter B, of the Fore-body, timber and space occupys 2 feet 4 in.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xvii. 46 We..ran her chock up to the yard.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. xiv. 132 Drawn chock-tight round his neck.
1903 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 352/2 Jest you turn to and take it right chock home to your own self for a secont, Cap'n.
1905 Cent. Mag. June 208/1 The main-boom, hauled chock aft, snatched at its sheets.
1992 D. DeLillo in Harper's Mag. Oct. 62/1 There are people chock up against each other.
ΚΠ
1832 J. P. Kennedy Swallow Barn I. xiv. 150 It's only the big wheel stopped as chock as a tombstone.
1864 ‘E. Kirke’ Down in Tennessee ix. 131 Dey all stop chock still, like dey'd bin a shot.
1922 A. E. Coppard Clorinda walks in Heaven 15 He stood chock-still.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
chockint.v.2
/tʃɒk/, U.S. /tʃɑk/ A. int.
Representing a short hollow sound, such as that produced by hammering or chopping, by a heavy object striking a hard surface, etc.
ΚΠ
1853 Western Lit. Messenger July 211/1 We heard of little Corbet crowing like a cock, barking like a dog, saying, ‘chick-chock’ at the mention of a horse.
1873 B. P. Shillaber Partingtonian Patchwork 309 Bogardus waited the sounding knock Of friends to come at the moment, ‘chock’.
1905 Black Cat Mar. 11 Chock-chock! the bolt was driven.
2000 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 9 Jan. c9 He swings his left arm, then his right and chock, chock, his ice axes are impaled firmly on the icicle.
B. v.2
intransitive. To make a short hollow sound; to go over, into, etc., something with such a sound.
ΚΠ
1874 Scribner's Monthly Sept. 592/2 Philip rowed steadily, the oars chocking regularly over the still lake.
1904 H. F. Day Kin o' Ktaadn 134 Then they heard the pulsing chopping as the axes chocked and chocked.
1913 C. E. Mulford Coming of Cassidy ii. 31 Skinny's smoking gun chocked into his holster.
2011 T. Blacklaws Cruel Crazy Beautiful World xlvi. 204 He runs flat out over the bare veld behind the barn, his borrowed boots chocking against stones.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1a1582
n.2adv.21819
n.31877adj.c1850v.1a1661adv.11768int.v.21853