hitchn.
/hɪtʃ/, U.S. /hɪtʃ/ 1.
a. A short abrupt movement, pull, or push; a jerk.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > sudden movement > [noun] > jerking > a jerk
spang1513
lipe1545
job1560
jert1568
abraid1570
jerk1575
flirta1592
yark1610
slip1615
flerka1653
hitch1674
toss1676
hotch1721
saccade1728
surge1748
flip1821
snatch1822
fling1826
kick1835
chuckc1843
jolt1849
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 122 Some minute or minutes more to bear on towards a second hitch.
1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful I. xii. 214 Ben..gives his trowsers one hitch, and calls for a quartern.
1847 D. T. Ansted Anc. World xvi. 401 One more great movement of elevation..acting by successive and repeated hitches, each of small amount.
1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. ix. xi. 543 Noailles..manœuvres him, hitch after hitch, out of Italy.
Categories »
b. colloquial. A little lift or push up; ‘temporary assistance; help through a difficulty’ (Ogilvie).
c. A catch in or a turn at wrestling.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > wrestling > [noun] > manoeuvres
swengOE
turn?c1225
castc1400
trip1412
fall?a1425
foil1553
collar1581
lock1598
faulx1602
fore-hip1602
forward1602
inturn1602
mare1602
hug1617
disembracement1663
buttock1688
throw1698
back-lock1713
cross-buttock1713
flying horse1713
in holds1713
buttocker1823
chip1823
dogfall1823
cross-buttocker1827
hitch1834
bear hug1837
backfall1838
stop1840
armlock1841
side hug1842
click1846
catch-hold1849
back-breaker1867
back-click1867
snap1868
hank1870
nelson1873
headlock1876
chokehold1886
stranglehold1886
hip lock1888
heave1889
strangle1890
pinfall1894
strangler's grip1895
underhold1895
hammer-lock1897
scissor hold1897
body slam1899
scissors hold1899
armbar1901
body scissors1903
scissors grip1904
waist-hold1904
neck hold1905
scissors1909
hipe1914
oshi1940
oshi-dashi1940
oshi-taoshi1940
pindown1948
lift1958
whip1958
Boston crab1961
grapevine1968
powerbomb1990
1834 H. M. Brackenridge Recoll. ix. 94 I'll stan iny mon a hitch in Butler county, if so be he'll clear me o' the la'.
1880 Harper's Mag. Mar. 525 How with ‘ducking’ heads and muffled screams you..saw them scrambling for a ‘hitch’.
2. Mining. A slight fault or dislocation of strata.
ΚΠ
1708 J. C. Compl. Collier 15 in T. Nourse Mistery of Husbandry Discover'd (ed. 3) Sometimes a Pit may happen to have a Hitch or Dipping of the Thill or Bottom of the way.
1789 J. Brand Hist. & Antiq. Newcastle II. 679 (note) A hitch is only a dike or fissure of a smaller degree.
1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 283/1 The dykes, if not large, are locally called troubles, slips, or hitches.
3. A limp, a hobble; an interference in a horse's pace. Cf. hitch v. 7.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by speed or gait > [noun] > type(s) of gait > limp or interference in pace
hitch1664
1664 G. Etherege Comical Revenge i. iii. 9 I will as soon undertake to reclaim A Horse from a hitch he has learn'd in his pace.
1682 London Gaz. No. 1748/4 A bay Mare..and hath a hitch in her Pace.
1704 R. Steele Lying Lover i. 2 With a pert Jirk forward, and little Hitch in my Gate like a Scholastick Beau.
1750 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 9 July (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1562 There is still a considerable hitch or hobble in your enunciation.
4.
a. dialect. The act of hopping; a hop: cf. hop n.2 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > leaping, springing, or jumping > [noun] > hopping > a hop
hop1508
hitch1799
1799 J. Jefferson Let. to J. Boucher 24 Jan. (MS.) I remember, when a boy, the playing at ‘hitch, step and jump’.
1807 J. Stagg Misc. Poems (new ed.) 11 Hitch step an' loup some try'd.
b. = hitch-hike n. at hitch-hike v. Derivatives. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > [noun] > a ride in a vehicle > hitch-hike
hitch-hike1927
hitch1955
1955 Times 27 Aug. 7/4 They are not asked in the middle of doing 200 miles in four hours for a half-mile ‘hitch’.
1966 J. Philips Wings of Madness (1967) ii. iv. 132 I came down by bus. I thought maybe you'd give me a hitch back.
5.
a. The action of catching or fastening in a temporary way, as on a hook, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > hook > loop of hook and eye
eye1548
eyelet1743
hitch1828
1828 in N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang.
b. A mode of harnessing a horse or team; a vehicle with its horse or team. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > harness of draught animal
harness1303
plough harnessc1390
geara1400
draught1483
van harness1823
trave harness1839
yoking1873
hitch1876
trace-harness1885
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > [noun] > with its draught animals
plough1505
team1641
Yarmouth coacha1661
rig1831
yoke1894
hitch1912
1876 3rd Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1875–6 143 If he can go best in one kind of a hitch, and, in that hitch, make the best time ever made by any horse.
1898 Christian Herald (N.Y.) 2 Mar. 167/2 Several hitches are a mule and steer together.
1905 Springfield (Mass.) Weekly Republican 22 Sept. 12 There were also several other creditable displays, both single and double hitches.
1912 C. E. Mulford & J. W. Clay Buck Peters, Ranchman xxii. 289 I want a hitch of some kind,..something with speed and bottom, and the sooner the better.
6.
a. A contrivance for fastening something, a catch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > [noun] > a fastening
fasteningOE
closing1382
festela1400
fastenera1425
fastingc1450
fastnessa1550
seizurea1616
closure1616
obligation1646
agraffe1772
fastenment1836
buckling1861
hitch1881
soul and body lashing1883
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 145 Hitch..2. A hole cut in the side-rock, when this is solid enough, to hold the cap of a set of timbers, permitting the leg to be dispensed with.
b. Chiefly Nautical. Applied to a noose or knot of various kinds, by which a rope is caught round or temporarily made fast to some object. See clove-hitch n., diamond n. hitch, half hitch n., etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable > [noun] > knot used by sailors > specific
bowline-knot1627
clinch1627
sheepshank1627
wall-knot1627
running bowline1710
running bowline knot1726
bend1769
clove-hitch1769
half-hitch1769
hitch1769
walnut1769
cat's paw1794
midshipman's hitch1794
reef knot1794
clench1804
French shroud knot1808
carrick bend1819
bowline1823
slippery hitch1832
wall1834
Matthew Walker1841
shroud-knot1860
stopper-knotc1860
marling hitch1867
wind-knot1870
Portuguese knot1871
rosette1875
chain knota1877
stopper-hitch1876
swab-hitch1883
monkey fist1917
Spanish bowline1968
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > binding or tying > a bond, tie, or fastening > [noun] > knot > any knot used by sailors > other specific sailors' knots
bowline-knot1627
clinch1627
sheepshank1627
wall-knot1627
running bowline1710
running bowline knot1726
bend1769
clove-hitch1769
half-hitch1769
hitch1769
walnut1769
Magnus hitch1794
midshipman's hitch1794
clench1804
French shroud knot1808
carrick bend1819
bowline1823
slippery hitch1832
wall1834
cat's paw1840
Matthew Walker1841
shroud-knot1860
stopper-knotc1860
Portuguese knot1871
chain knota1877
stopper-hitch1876
swab-hitch1883
Spanish bowline1968
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine H h 3 b They are..attached by a knot, called a clove-hitch, to..the shrouds.
1832 F. Marryat Newton Forster I. xiii. 181 The monkey of a boy who made her fast..had made a ‘slippery hitch’; so away it went.
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 1 What is an admiralty hitch used for? For setting up lower rigging, or heaving turns taut with a marling spike.
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling ii. 51 The float..is fastened on with two half hitches.
1888 Cent. Mag. 36 202/2 An expert packer, versed in the mysteries of the ‘diamond hitch’, the only arrangement of the ropes that will insure a load staying in its place.
1894 C. Phillipps-Wolley Gold in Cariboo 61 The diamond hitch had no mysteries for him, the loops flew out and settled to an inch where he wanted them to.
7. figurative. An accidental or temporary stoppage, such as is caused by something suddenly getting caught or entangled; an impediment, obstruction.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ceasing > temporary cessation of activity or operation > [noun] > a temporary cessation of activity or operation > sudden or accidental
checkc1555
hitch1748
syncope1785
hold-up1837
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > [noun] > a check or rebuff > temporary or minor
hocket1276
stick1647
hitch1748
contretemps1809
technical hitch1877
glitch1962
hiccup1965
1748 H. Walpole Let. 16 Feb. in Lett. to H. Mann (1833) II. 243 There seems to be some hitch in Legge's Embassy; I believe we were overhasty.
1794 Ld. Malmesbury in 14th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1896) App. v. 577 There was some hitch in the execution of our treaty.
1821 J. W. Croker Diary 3 June in Croker Papers (1884) I There may be some hitch in the arrangement.
1872 W. Bagehot Physics & Polit. (1876) 172 When any hitch has arisen in the moral system of the human world.
1885 Manch. Examiner 15 May 5/3 A hitch has occurred in regard to the Afghan boundary arrangement.
8. A period of service, e.g. in the armed forces. Chiefly U.S. slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military service > [noun] > period of service
long service1782
hitch1835
short-service1882
1835 Novascotian (Halifax) 12 Nov. 332/2 At last he said, which way are you from, Mr. Slick, this hitch.
1913 Army & Navy Jrnl. Philippines 4 Oct. 15/1 I had to go or else re-up For seven long years hitch.
1955 ‘C. S. Forester’ Good Shepherd 24 He was new to the ship, a transfer made when they were in Reykjavik, serving his second hitch.
1957 J. Kerouac On the Road iv. ii. 257 Another hitch in prison and you'll be put away for life.
1959 Listener 15 Oct. 607/1 Newspapermen who did a hitch in Britain during the war.
1973 Washington Post 13 Jan. A3/2 In his work in intelligence, Pounder had many assignments, including a hitch as part of the White House security detail during President John F. Kennedy's Ireland trip.
9. Soap-making. (See quot. 1885)
ΚΠ
1885 W. L. Carpenter Treat. Manuf. Soap 167 Practice alone will enable the operator to judge of the completion of this first operation called ‘pasting’ (French empâtage)... The soap is then said to be..in a ‘hitch’ or ‘glue’.
Compounds
hitch and kick n. = hitch-kick n.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > athletics > [noun] > specific athletic sports other than running > jumping > long-jump > method of
hitch and kick1898
hitch-kick1931
1898 N.Y. Tribune 6 Sept. 9/4 Michael Sweeney, the well-known jumper, broke a world's record in the hitch-and-kick by one inch.
hitch-kick n. a form of high-kicking or long-jumping.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > athletics > [noun] > specific athletic sports other than running > jumping > long-jump > method of
hitch and kick1898
hitch-kick1931
1931 F. A. M. Webster Athletes in Action 155 Numerous men using the ‘hitch-kick’, or ‘mid-air-running’ style, have beaten 25 ft.
1957 S. Duncan & K. Bone Oxf. Pocket Bk. Athletic Training (ed. 2) 71 Do not spend time on learning the hitchkick at the expense of developing speed, etc.
hitch-knot n. = sense 6b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > binding or tying > a bond, tie, or fastening > [noun] > knot > temporary knot
hitch-knot1847
1847 T. T. Stoddart Angler's Compan. 69 In making large fly-hooks..I bring down the thread and fasten it, with a simple hitch-knot.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
hitchv.
/hɪtʃ/, U.S. /hɪtʃ/ I. To move jerkily.
1.
a. transitive. To move (anything) as with a jerk, or in an abrupt or discontinuous manner; to shift (a thing) a little away or aside.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > sudden movement > cause to move suddenly [verb (transitive)] > jerk
braida1000
hitch1440
spang1513
jog1548
jert1566
jerk1582
gag1587
to toss up1588
tossa1618
thrip1674
shrug1678
flip1712
hotch1823
switch1842
slirt1870
hoick1898
quirk1978
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 239/2 Hytchyd, or remevyd, Amotus, remotus.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 239/2 Hytchyn, or remevyn (K. hychyn, P. hytchen, J., W. hythen), amoveo, moveo, removeo.
a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 401 Another than dyd hyche her, And brought a pottel pycher.
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre i. xxiii. 34 Jerusalem..hath somewhat altered her situation, having hitched herself more northwest-ward.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 122 That the spring of the Watch..should by its bear or elasticity hitch it forwards.
1849 C. Brontë Shirley I. ix. 222 Hitching his chair nearer the fire.
1883 J. Gilmour Among Mongols xxiii. 286 Hitching himself round..looking at me.
b. esp. To raise or lift with a jerk. Usually with up. Originally Nautical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > make to go up or cause to rise [verb (transitive)] > lift or take up > lift briskly
to tick up1586
hitch1834
hoick1898
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple III. xiii. 168 So saying, Swinburne hitched up his trowsers, and went down below.
1842 R. H. Barham Misadventures Margate in Ingoldsby Legends 2nd Ser. 155 And then he hitch'd his trousers up, as is, I'm told, their use.
1861 ‘S. Tytler‘ Papers Thoughtful Girls (1863) 38 Over-prominent shoulderblades, which she had not given over hitching awkwardly.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. ii. i. 168 She hitched this chin up.
1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. iii. 24 She..hitched her dress.
c. (See quot. 1888.)
Π
1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. s.v. A cutting tool moving automatically in a tool holder is said to hitch or catch when it is pulled into the work at a depth greater than it is intended to use.
2. figurative.
a. To move or lift as by a jerk into some position; spec. to put (as by an effort) into a story, into verse, or the like; to insert or mention in a literary work, esp. by way of exposure or ridicule. Sometimes apparently associated with sense 5.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)] > present by literary treatment > by specific kind of literary treatment
hitch1749
to do off1819
kill1867
tea-table1938
society > society and the community > social class > accord social rank to [verb (transitive)] > elevate or raise to a higher position
raisec1175
elevate1509
amount1523
bear?1529
advance?1566
elate1578
prelate1626
hitch1805
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. viii. i. 150 Hitch him in a Distich. View more context for this quotation
1779 J. Adams in J. Adams & A. Adams Familiar Lett. (1876) 355 If..the letter should be caught and hitched into a newspaper, the world would say I was not to be trusted with a secret.
1781 R. B. Sheridan Critic i. i Now we must appear loving and affectionate, or Sneer will hitch us into a story.
1788 V. Knox Winter Evenings I. ii. xiii. 196 The most exalted persons..cruelly hitched in a rhyme, and thrown out to the vulgar.
1805 W. Taylor in Ann. Rev. 3 58 Our endowed free schools..keep down the price of education..and they hitch into genteel life a number of young men, who are lost to industry.
1889 B. C. Robinson Bench & Bar 305 A few words hitched in here regarding barristers' clerks may not be thought out of place.
b. intransitive for passive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > follow occupation of writer [verb (intransitive)] > be inserted or mentioned in a work
hitch1733
1733 A. Pope 1st Satire 2nd Bk. Horace Imitated 13 Who-e'er offends, at some unlucky Time Slides into Verse, and hitches in a Rhyme, Sacred to Ridicule! his whole Life long.
1782 W. Mason Dean & 'Squire 194 I ask his pardon. At the time He chanc'd to hitch into my rhyme.
1805 J. Foster Ess. iv. v. 185 (note) Names that may more commodiously hitch into verse.
3.
a. intransitive. To shift one's position a little; to move with a jerk or succession of jerks.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > bodily movement > move the body or a member [verb (intransitive)] > shift one's place or position
turnOE
remuea1393
removea1400
hitch1618
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move progressively in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > move along jerkily
itch1579
hitch1618
1618 T. Adams Happines of Church ii. 46 When..the place of their hope became an Iland, loe now they hitch vp higher to the toppes of the tallest trees.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 76 To ease themselves a little, by hitching into another place.
18.. W. Taylor in Ann. Rev. The Belgæ..were hitching westward to make room for the Goths.
1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia V. xviii. xii. 312 Slow Fermor..began hitching southward, southward gradually to Posen.
b. To jerk the body up and down; to hotch v.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > sudden movement > make sudden movement [verb (intransitive)] > jerk
hotchc1440
hitch?1518
jerk1606
flounce1609
fluce1627
yarka1640
quirk1821
flip1862
?1518 R. Copland tr. P. Gringore Complaynte them that ben to late Maryed (new ed.) sig. A.iiiv Mo gallantes..ren After a wentche and lepe and hytche Than dogges do about a farowinge bytche.
1571 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxix. 15 Quhat mervell than thochte chaist forett..Hichit on þe hure so oppinly?
1868 H. Woodruff & C. J. Foster Trotting Horse Amer. iv. 59 When it was found that they began to hitch and hobble, a good let-up would do more to restore the stroke than anything else.
1889 Cent. Mag. 907/2 I do not know what would happen to a man who ‘hitched’ in his saddle.
4.
a. To walk unevenly or lamely; to hobble; (also dialect) to hop.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > walk, tread, or step [verb (intransitive)] > unevenly
hobble1362
clockc1400
hirple?a1500
hitch1513
himp1533
cramble1607
himple1656
hoit1786
tolter1821
hippity-hoppity1830
clop1863
hippity hop1879
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > leaping, springing, or jumping > leap, spring, or jump [verb (intransitive)] > hop
hipc1275
hop1700
hitch1868
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iv. xi. 114 The tother..Hichit on furth with slaw pace lyke ane trat.
a1605 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart 395 Fra the how to the hight, some hobles, some hatches [? error for hitches; rhymes ‘witches’, ‘bitches’]; With their mouthes to the moone, murgeons they maid.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. at Hobble To walk lamely or awkwardly upon one leg more than the other; to hitch.
1787 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. Hitch, to move or walk. Norf.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. v. v. 253 Surely also Punishment, this day, hitches (if she still hitch) after Crime, with frightful shoes-of-swiftness.
1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. Hitch, to move a short distance in any direction; to hop.
1870 A. D. T. Whitney We Girls x. 170 She began to hitch along; for walk she wouldn't, and she didn't.
b. = hitch-hike v. Also transitive. to hitch a lift, etc.: to obtain a lift in a vehicle.
ΘΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > ride a vehicle [verb (transitive)] > thumb (a lift) > make one's way by lifts
to bum one's way1877
to hitch a lift1931
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > ride in a vehicle [verb (intransitive)] > hitch-hike
hitch-hike1923
thumb1932
hitch1959
swamp1964
1931 ‘B. Starke’ Touch & Go ix. 133 She told me she had hitched her way down to New Orleans a week before.
1931 ‘B. Starke’ Touch & Go xii. 192 Two lads spoke to me, and asked if I were hitching it by myself.
1948 E. Partridge et al. Dict. Forces' Slang 94 Hitch a lift, or ride.
1959 ‘G. Carr’ Swing Away, Climber i. 17 We hitched—got lifts, you know—from Birmingham.
1960 Sunday Express 6 Nov. 7/5 The car in which he had hitched a lift crashed into a lorry.
1963 Guardian 4 Feb. 6/5 They hitch there and back.
II. To fasten by something that catches.figurative.1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 217 Set your opinion at whatever pitch, Knots and impediments make something hitch.1828 W. Scott Jrnl. 18 Feb. (1941) 190 Despatched all my sheriff processes, save one, which hitches for want of some papers.1864 W. Bagehot in National Rev. Nov. 31 Their traits were indistinct; we forgot them, for they hitched on to nothing, and we could not classify them.1891 Newcastle Daily Jrnl. 23 Mar. 5/4 They want marriage..to be dissolved when one party tires of the other or desires to hitch on elsewhere.
5.
a. transitive. To catch as with a loop, noose, or hook; to fasten, esp. in a temporary way (and against force acting in one direction). Also absol. and figurative.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > binding or tying > bind or tie [verb (transitive)] > fasten with a loop or noose
hank1357
hitch1627
loop1837
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. vii. 30 Hitch, is to catch hold of any thing with a rope to hold it fast, or with a hooke, as hitch the fish-hooke to the Anchors flooke, or the Tackles into the Garnets of the Slings.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture II. 14/1 Little knobs..against which the ropes were hitched, to prevent their slipping.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. iii. 60 Hitching your knife in the gritty flaws of a black-lead pencil.
1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village II. 102 Hitching our shawls in a bramble.
1835 W. Irving Tour on Prairies xix. 162 The hunter..hitches the running noose of the lariat over his [the wild horse's] head by means of the forked stick.
1844 Queen's Regulations & Orders Army 351 The tackle is to be hitched on, and the horse run up quickly.
1845 J. J. Hooper Taking Census i. 151 We rode up..and hitching to the fence, walked into the house.
1855 R. Owen Lect. Compar. Anat. Invertebr. Animals (ed. 2) xiv. 303 Sometimes the crab hitches one of its claws into some crack or fissure.
1864 J. Ruskin Arrows of Chace (1880) I. 262 A stone under a glacier may be hitched or suspended in the ice itself for long spaces.
1870 A. L. Gordon Bush Ballads 35 I hitched my mare to a tree.
1872 H. T. Ellacombe Bells of Church in Church Bells Devon ii. 217 Bells are sometimes chimed by..hitching the rope round the flight or tail of the clapper.
1893 ‘Q’ Delectable Duchy 286 He..hitched this hat upon a peg in the wall.
b. figurative. To catch, arrest (attention, etc.). rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > attracting attention > engage the attention [verb (transitive)]
exercisea1538
entertainc1540
replenish1548
rouse1583
catcha1586
amuse1586
detainc1595
attract1599
grope1602
concerna1616
take1634
stay1639
engage1642
meet1645
nudge1675
strike1697
hitcha1764
seize1772
interest1780
acuminate1806
arrest1835
grip1891
intrigue1894
grab1966
work1969
a1764 R. Lloyd Ruff. Poet in Wks. (1774) I. 171 As gaudy signs, which hang before The tavern or the alehouse door, Hitch every passer's observation.
1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk (1869) 2nd Ser. xvi. 317 As if the mind were equally hitched in difficulties and distracted with doubts.
c. with up: To harness, yoke; absol. ‘To harness a horse to a vehicle, make ready for driving’ ( Cent. Dict.). U.S. So hitch to (Australian).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [verb (intransitive)] > harness
inspan1834
hitch1844
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [verb (transitive)] > harness or yoke
yokeOE
harness13..
cart-saddle1377
join1377
couple1393
enharness1490
benda1522
bind1535
span1550
team1552
spang1580
inyoke1595
trace1605
enclose?1615
gear1638
to get in1687
reharness1775
reyoke1813
to hook up1825
inspan1834
hitch1844
pole1846
stock1909
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > attachment > [noun]
alligation1538
pertinence1610
confixure1654
attachment1765
hitch1844
1844 J. J. Webb Memoirs 206 Everything arranged, we hitched up, and started on our route.
1870 R. W. Emerson Civilization in Wks. (1906) III. 11 Now that is the wisdom of a man..to hitch his waggon to a star.
1870 E. E. Hale Ten Times One iv He would hitch up at once and drive over to Elyria.
1880 Earl of Dunraven in 19th Cent. Oct. 606 There was nothing for us to do but hitch up our teams and drive back to settlements.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 127 The three leaders was hitched to, and away we went.
d. to hitch horses together (also short, to hitch): to agree, get on well together, act in harmony. U.S. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > be friendly [verb (intransitive)] > get on (well)
gree?a1513
to get in with1602
cotton1605
to hitch (also set, or stable) horses together1617
to hit it1634
gee1685
to set horses together1685
to be made for each other (also one another)1751
to hit it off1780
to get ona1805
to hitch horses together1835
niggle1837
to step together1866
to speak (also talk) someone's (also the same) language1893
to stall with1897
cog1926
groove1935
click1954
vibe1986
1835 Capt. M'Clintock in Atkinson's Casket June After he poked his fist in my face, one 'lection, we never hitched horses together.
1836 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 1st Ser. xxv. 160 They [man and wife] don't hitch their horses together well at all.
1842 C. M. Kirkland Forest Life I. xiv. 116 I come on to drive a spell for this here old feller,..but I guess we sha'nt hitch long.
1862 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 2nd Ser. ii. i. 63 An' so we fin'lly made it up, concluded to hitch hosses.
e. passive. To be yoked; figurative to be married. U.S. Also to get hitched up: to be married, to become married (chiefly dialect and New Zealand).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (intransitive)]
weda1225
marrya1325
spousec1390
to make matrimonyc1400
intermarry1528
contract1530
to give (also conjoin, join, take) in (also to, into) marriage1535
to make a match1547
yoke1567
match1569
mate1589
to go to church (with a person)1600
to put one's neck in a noosec1600
paira1616
to join giblets1647
buckle1693
espouse1693
to change (alter) one's condition1712
to tie the knot1718
to marry out1727
to wedlock it1737
solemnize1748
forgather1768
unite1769
connubiate1814
conjugalize1823
connubialize1870
splice1874
to get hitched up1890
to hook up1903
1857 J. G. Holland Bay-path xv. 172 Now and then a feller gets hitched to a hedge-hog [of a wife].
1862 C. F. Browne Artemus Ward his Bk. x If you mean gettin hitched, I'm in!
1890 S. S. Buckman John Darke's Sojourn in Cotteswolds xxii. 202 'Twarn't long avor we got hitched up together.
1911 ‘Kiwi’ On the Swag vii. 14 Elsie and I got ‘hitched up’.
1944 J. H. Fullarton Troop Target iii. 24 That's the fifth o the old gang to get hitched up in five months.
6. intransitive. To become fastened or caught, esp. by hooking on; to be caught or stopped by some obstruction; to catch on something. Also figurative.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > [verb (intransitive)] > cease to move or become motionless > be arrested or intercepted in progress
steek?a1400
sticka1450
lodge1611
intercept1612
catch1620
clog1633
jam1706
rake1725
fasten1744
set1756
hitch1897
seize1917
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. xxx. 487 The leaues..ende with clasping tendrelles, whereby it hitcheth fast and taketh sure hold.
1633 T. James Strange Voy. 25 The Anker hitcht againe, and upon the chopping of a Sea, threw the men from the Capstang.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §167 (note) We have had instances of the boat's gunnel hitching under a stone in the tackle.
1835 W. Irving Tour on Prairies 176 The lariat hitched on one of his ears, and he shook it off.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 583 My descent being arrested by a collection of brush brushwood and rubbish..which had hitched far down in the shaft.
7. Of a horse: to strike the feet together in going; to interfere. (Perhaps related to sense 4. Cf. hitch n. 3.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [verb (intransitive)] > strike one leg against other
interfere1530
overreach1590
cut1660
hitch1686
click1713
brush1868
1686 London Gaz. No. 2128/4 Stolen..A brown Gelding..all his paces, and hitches a little in his pace.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) To Hitch,..to knock the Legs in going as a Horse does.
Derivatives
hitching n. (also attributive as in hitching-bar, hitching-clamp, hitching-post, hitching-strap, hitching-weight, i.e. one used in tethering a horse).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > sudden movement > [noun] > jerking
hitchingc1440
twitching1478
yarking?1561
flirting1593
flouncing1601
jerking1851
pecking1890
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > binding or tying > a bond, tie, or fastening > [noun] > a turn of rope round anything
hitchingc1440
round turn1794
lingtow1815
belay1908
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > tether > hitching post or rail
range1688
tether-stake1725
tether-sticka1800
hitching-post1842
picket-pin1844
tie-post1861
tether-stone1884
tie rail1920
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > tether
tether1376
sealc1440
solec1440
picket line1768
head rope1810
leg rope1826
trail-rope1826
lariat1835
riata1846
mecate1849
hitching-weight1852
tie-strap1875
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > [noun] > hitch-hiking
autostop1938
hitch-hiking1959
hitching1963
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 239/2 Hytchinge, or remevynge [v.r. hichynge, hyhchynge], amocio, remocio.
1678 J. Bunyan Welcome to Jesus in Pilgrim's Progress (Virtue) 379 The desire of his mind is not to be judged by the slow pace of the dull beast he rides, as by his hitching, kicking, and spurring.
1842 J. L. Scott Jrnl. Missionary Tour Pennsylvania (1843) vi. 68 When at the door they alighted, and he rode off to the ‘hitching post’.
1852 C. A. Bristed Upper Ten Thousand 67 [He] pulled a hitching-strap from under the seat, and fastened his off-horse very neatly to a lamp-post.
1871 H. B. Stowe Oldtown Fireside Stories 84 All the hitchin'-posts was full clean up to the tavern.
1884 Harper's Mag. Dec. 96/2 Every available hitching-post [for horses] in sight was taken.
1884 W. D. Howells Rise Silas Lapham xviii. 336 He got the hitching-weight from under the buggy seat and made it fast to the mare's bit.
1920 J. Gregory Man to Man ix. 103 A dozen saddle-horses were tied at the hitching-rail.
1926 J. Black You can't Win ix. 108 I..limped outside where I had an old ‘swift’ tied to a hitching rack.
1963 Guardian 4 Feb. 6/3 At weekends hitching..is widely practised.
1963 J. N. Harris Weird World Wes Beattie (1964) xviii. 216 ‘Oh, Gargoyle, darling,’ she said, sitting down on an old hitching block at the edge of the Rosedale pavement, ‘isn't it too gorgeous?’
hitching adj.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > sudden movement > [adjective] > jerking
yarking1565
jerking1653
flerking1710
hitching1832
squibbing1895
1832 Examiner 790/1 Nothing lets down a smart hit so lamentably as a hitching verse or hobbling rhyme.
1882 G. S. Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 130 The sail is..laced to the yard with hitching turns.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
> see also
also refers to : hitch-comb. form
<
n.1664v.1440see also
- speechbehaviour
- speechbereaving
- speechbound
- speechbreak
- speechbreathing
- speechbringer
- speechcentre
- speechcommunity
- speechcorrectionist
- speechcraft
- speechcrier
- speechday
- speechdeafness
- speeched
- speechelement
- speechenergy
- speecher
- speeches
- speechevent
- speechfamed
- speechfeeling
- speechfellows
- speechflooded
- speechform
- speechful