Hocktiden.
Obsolete exc. Historical.
a. The time or season of the hock days: Hock Monday and Tuesday (the second Monday and Tuesday after Easter-day), on which in pre-Reformation times money was collected for church and parish purposes, with various festive and sportive customs; after the Reformation kept for some time as a festive season with various traditional customs, some of which survived into the 19th cent.The earlier custom seems to have been the seizing and binding (by women on Monday, and by men on Tuesday) of persons of the opposite sex, who released themselves by a small payment. After this was prohibited (see 14061 for hocking n. at hock v.2 Derivatives, 1450 at Hock-day n.), recourse was had to the plan of stretching ropes or chains across the streets and ways, to stop passers for the same purpose. (See 1777 at Hock Tuesday n.)
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society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > 40 days up to Ascension > [noun] > first week in > week following > Monday and Tuesday in
rope-tide1406
Hocktide1484
1484 in J. L. Glasscock Rec. St. Michael's, Bishop's Stortford (1882) 26 Item pd. for bakyng of the brede at hoketyde vd.
1509 Kingston-upon-Thames Borough Rec. in D. Lysons Environs of London (1792) I. 229 Recd for the gaderyng at Hoc-tyde 0 14 0.
1510 Churchwardens' Accts. St. Mary's in J. Peshall Hist. Univ. Oxford 67 Recepts. Recd. atte Hoctyde of the wyfes gaderynge, xvs. ijd.
1546 Churchwardens' Accts. St. Dunstan's, Canterb. Recevyd of the wyvys yt they did gether at Hoktyd iijs. ixd.
1558 Churchwardens' Accts. St. Dunstan's, Canterb. Money gathryd att Hopptyde last past.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. viii. v. 397/2 The day of his [sc. Hardicnut's] death is annually celebrated with open pastimes..which time is now called Hoctide or Hucxtide, signifying a time of scorning or contempt, which fell vpon the Danes by his death.
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes iii. 621 (margin) Hocktide I haue seene kept with publike feasting in the street, the women also binding men, or compelling them to some ransome; the Tuesday fortnight after Easter.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Hocktyde or Hockstyde,..in some parts of this Nation not yet out of memory, but observed the week after Easter.
1663 Churchwardens' Accts. St. Peter's in East in J. Peshall Hist. Univ. Oxford 83 Hocktide brought in this year £6.
1772–3 Churchwardens' Accts. St. Peter's in East in J. Peshall Hist. Univ. Oxford 83 This parish of St. Peter in the East gained by the Hocktide and Whitsuntide, anno 1664, the sum of 14l.
1777 J. Brand Observ. Pop. Antiq. (1849) I. 187.
1825 W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) I. 476 At Hock-tide..collections of Hock-money were made.
1898 Liverpool Echo 19 Apr. (2nd Tuesday after Easter) 4/3 ‘Kissing Day’ at Hungerford.—Hungerford is once more celebrating Hock-tide, with all its quaint customs and ancient ceremonies.
b. attributive, as Hocktide-festival, Hocktide-money, Hocktide-pastime.
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c1505 Churchwardens' Accts. St. Dunstan's, Canterb. Receyvid of Hocktyde money for iij yere xxiijs. viijd.
1613 G. Wither Abuses Stript ii. iv. sig. R7v Because that for the Churches good, They in defence of Hock-tide custome stood.
1636 J. Trussell in Ann. Dubrensia sig. B2 The Hocktide pastimes, are Declin'd, if not diserted.
1884 J. A. Symonds Shakspere's Predecessors iv. 176 They were acted..at hock-tide festivals.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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