Advertisement

Origin and history of hunt

hunt(v.)

Old English huntian "chase game" (transitive and intransitive), perhaps developed from hunta "hunter," and related to hentan "to seize," from Proto-Germanic *huntojan (source also of Gothic hinÃūan "to seize, capture," Old High German hunda "booty"), which is of uncertain origin.

Not the usual Germanic word for this, which is represented by Dutch jagen, German jagen (see yacht (n.)). General sense of "search diligently" (for anything) is recorded from c. 1200. Related: Hunted; hunting. To hunt (something) up "search for until found" is from 1791. Parlor game hunt the slipper is attested from 1766.

hunt(n.)

early 12c., "act of chasing game," from hunt (v.). Old English had huntung, huntoÃū. Meaning "body of persons associated for the purpose of hunting with a pack of hounds" is first recorded 1570s. Meaning "act of searching for someone or something" is from c. 1600.

also from early 12c.

Entries linking to hunt

hunting(n.)

modification of Old English huntung "a hunt, chase; what is hunted, game," verbal noun from hunt (v.). Bartlett (1848) notes it as the word commonly used by sportsmen in the Southern states of the U.S. where in the North they use gunning. Happy hunting-grounds "Native American afterlife paradise" is from "Last of the Mohicans" (1826); hunting-ground in a Native American context is from 1777.

yacht(n.)

1550s, yeaghe "a light, fast-sailing ship," originally a vessel of state for important personages, later used by the wealthy for pleasure trips or racing, from Norwegian jaght or early Dutch jaght, both from Middle Low German jacht, a shortened form of jachtschip "fast pirate ship." This is literally "ship for chasing," from jacht "chase," from jagen "to chase, hunt," from Old High German jagon, from Proto-Germanic *yago-, which is reconstructed (Watkins) to be from PIE root *yek- (2) "to hunt" (source also of Hittite ekt- "hunting net").

As a verb by 1826. Yacht-club, "union of yacht-owners," usually headed by a "commodore," is by 1834. Related: Yachting; yachter; yachtsman; yachtsmanship.

Advertisement

More to explore

hint
c. 1600 (Shakespeare), "an indirect suggestion intended to be caught by the knowing," apparently from obsolete hent, from Middle English hinten "to tell, inform" (c. 1400), from Old English hentan "to seize," from Proto-Germanic *hantijan (source also of Gothic hinÃūan "to seize")
trace
late 14c., "follow (a course); draw a line, make an outline of something," also figurative; "ponder, investigate," from Old French tracier "look for, follow, pursue" (12c., Modern French tracer), from Vulgar Latin *tractiare "delineate, score, trace" (source also of Spanish traza
run
Old English, "move swiftly by using the legs, go on legs more rapidly than walking," also "make haste, hurry; be active, pursue or follow a course," and, of inanimate things, "to move over a course." The modern verb is a merger of two related Old English words, in both of which t
chase
c. 1300, chacen "to hunt; to cause to go away; put to flight," from Old French chacier "to hunt, ride swiftly, strive for...*captiare "try to seize, chase" (source of Italian cacciare, Catalan casar, Spanish cazar, Portuguese caçar "to chase, hunt...
catch
. 1200, "to take, capture," from Anglo-French or Old North French cachier "catch, capture" animals (Old French chacier "hunt..., pursue, drive" animals, Modern French chasser "to hunt"), from Vulgar Latin *captiare "try to seize, chase" (also source...Its senses in early Middle English also included "to chase, hunt," which later went with chase (v.)....
gain
French gaaignier "to earn, gain; trade; capture, win," also "work in the fields, cultivate land," from Frankish *waidanjan "hunt..., forage," also "graze, pasture," from Proto-Germanic *waithanjan "to hunt, plunder," from *waithjo- "pursuit, hunting" (...strive, desire;" Lithuanian vyti "to chase, pursue;" Old Norse veiðr "chase, hunting, fishing;" Old English OE wað "a chase, hunt...
sale
Middle English sale, from late Old English sala "a sale, act of selling," which according to OED probably is from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse sala "sale," but in either case from Proto-Germanic *salo (source also of Old High German sala, Swedish salu, Danish salg), fr
seal
"design stamped on wax," especially an impressed figure attached to a document as evidence of authenticity, c. 1200, sel, sele, from Old French seel, seal "seal on a letter" (Modern French sceau), from Vulgar Latin *sigellum (source of Italian suggello, Spanish sello; also Old Fr
shake-down
also shakedown, 1730, "impromptu bed made upon loose straw," from the verbal phrase; see shake (v.) + down (adv.). The verbal phrase shake down is attested from late 14c. as "shake into place, compact by shaking" also "cause to totter and fall." The meaning "forced contribution"

Share hunt

Advertisement
Trending
Dictionary entries near hunt
Advertisement