† huntn.1
Obsolete.
A hunter; a huntsman. (In quot. c1000, a hunting-spider.) Common Hunt: see quot. 1707.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun]
huntc1000
huntera1325
cacherec1340
pricasourc1387
waithmanc1425
chaser1470
huntsman1567
pricker1575
Nimrod1623
venator1656
fieldmana1683
sportsman1699
coureur de bois1700
sporting parson1757
chasseur1796
jäger1823
shikari1827
venerer1845
hunting-man1859
gamer1887
hunterman1891
veldman1895
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun] > master of hounds
huntsman1600
field master1648
huntsmaster1691
Common Hunt1700
master1781
skirter1827
c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 144 Wiþ huntan bite, blace sneglas on hattre pannan gehyrste.
c1131 Anglo-Saxon Chron. anno 1127 Ða huntes wæron swarte..& here hundes ealle swarte..& hi ridone on swarte hors.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 209 Þe deuel..henteð us alse hunte driueð deor to grune.
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Rolls) VII. 357 Alle þe hontes schulde come wiþ her houndes.
a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 629 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 320 A halpeny þo hunte takes on þe day For euery hounde, þo sothe to say.
1566 T. Drant tr. Horace Medicinable Morall sig. Aiij The hungrye hunts muste haue it all.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xlii. 127 Then the chiefe hunte shall take his knyfe, and cut off the Deares ryght foote.
1700 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical iii. 30 Would you buy the Common Hunt, the Common Cryers, the Bridge-Master's..Places?
1707 J. Chamberlayne Angliæ Notitia (ed. 22) 357 He [the Lord Mayor] hath four Officers that wait on him, who are reputed Esquires by their Places; that is, The Sword-Bearer. The Common-Hunt, who keepeth a good Kennel of Hounds for the Lord-Mayor's Recreation abroad. The Common Cryer. The Water Bailiff.
1807 Jrnl. 17 Dec. 84, in Common Council of London f. 135 b Motion thereupon made that the Office of Common Hunt be abolished, and eventually carried.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
huntn.2
/hʌnt/, U.S. /hənt/ 1. The act of hunting.
a. The act of chasing wild animals for the purpose of catching or killing them; the chase.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > [noun]
huntethc900
huntingc1000
sleatinga1122
purchasec1325
veneryc1330
venation1386
venison1390
the chase?a1400
chasing?a1400
waithc1400
huntc1405
vanchasea1425
enchase1486
vaunt-chase1575
field sport1580
shikara1613
huntsmanshipa1631
cynegetics1646
sport of kings1735
game hunting1823
blood sport1893
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1770 Ther nas no tygre in the vale of Galgopheye..So cruel on the hunte.
c1480 (a1400) St. Julian 236 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 465 In ȝouthhede..he a day til hwntis ȝede.
1537 in J. Gairdner Lett. & Papers Reign Henry VIII (1890) (modernized text) XII. i. 206 In formation against John Hogon, who, going about the country with a ‘crowde’ or a fiddle..sang a song with these words, ‘The hunt is up’, etc.
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. ii. 1 The hunt is vp the Moone is bright and gray. View more context for this quotation
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iii. 19 Eccho mocks the hounds,..As if a double hunt were heard at once. View more context for this quotation
1750 J. S. Gardiner Art & Pleasures of Hare-hunting vi. 55 Why a Hare, towards the end of the Hunt, is often difficult to be killed.
1869 A. Trollope He knew he was Right I. i. 5 [He] could not have ridden a hunt to save either his government or his credit.
b. figurative and gen. Pursuit, as of a wild animal; the act of strenuously seeking or endeavouring to find something; a search, esp. a diligent search. Also with adv., as a hunt-up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > a search
quest?c1335
search?a1475
searching out1531
searching1562
hunt1608
inquest1621
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > [noun] > pursuit > hostile or violent
chasec1325
hunting-down1542
hunt1608
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear vii. 169 I heare my selfe proclaim'd, And by the happie hollow of a tree Escapt the hunt.
1697 tr. Countess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 52 They were now upon the Hunt for him.
1764 S. Foote Patron ii. 47 It is three months ago since I got the first scent of it, and I have been ever since on the hunt.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. viii. 659 On the hunt for appearances of guilt.
1852 J. W. Carlyle Lett. II. 194 I went off then on a new hunt for lodgings.
2. concrete.† b. That which is hunted; game killed in hunting: = chase n.1 4. Obsolete.
a. A body of persons (which may include also horses and dogs) engaged in, or associated for the purpose of, hunting with a pack of hounds; (also) a hunting association.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun] > hunt
hunt1579
meet1884
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Sept. 159 For feare of raungers, and the great hunt.
1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther i. 3 The common Hunt, though from their rage restrain'd..Grin'd as They pass'd.
1762 in Egerton-Warburton Hunt. Songs (1883) Introd. 14 The Orders of the Tarporley Hunt, November ye 14th, 1762.
1787 R. Burns Poems (new ed.) Ded. p. v To the Noblemen and Gentlemen of the Caledonian Hunt.
1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsemanship To Rdr. p. v They might ere now have belonged to the first hunts in the country.
1812 Sporting Mag. 39 134 Foxes..have been poisoned..to the great annoyance of the hunts established in that county.
1877 R. H. Roberts Harry Holbrooke of Holbrooke Hall i. 12 She..is looked upon as a privileged person, a pet of the hunt.
1889 C. Smith Repentance Paul Wentworth I. 56 To withdraw his subscription to the Hunt.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animals hunted > [noun] > caught or killed in hunting
gamec1300
purchasec1325
venison1338
huntinga1500
hunt1588
the world > food and drink > hunting > thing hunted or game > [noun]
preya1250
gamec1330
chase1393
waitha1400
purchasea1450
small gamec1474
quarryc1500
gibier1514
meat1529
hunt-beast1535
hunt1588
course1607
felon1735
ground-game1872
1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Hist. Kingdome of China 17 In the which..is great quantitie of hunt and flying foules.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iii. vi. 87 Boyes wee'l go dresse our Hunt . View more context for this quotation
c. The district over which a pack of hounds hunts. Cf. chase n.1 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting area > [noun]
fieldOE
forest1297
seta1425
chasea1440
hunting-fieldc1680
hunting-ground1721
flying county1856
hunt1857
moor1860
the Shires1860
driving moor1873
beat1875
killing ground1877
flying country1883
killing field1915
1857 in Art Taming Horses (1859) xi. 178 The celebrated ‘Haycock’ [inn].., standing..in the middle of the Fitzwilliam Hunt.
1882 Field 28 Jan. 100/3 Every landowner within the hunt should be careful to preserve foxes.
1899 N.E.D. at Hunt Mod. The property is situated within the Heythrop hunt.
3. Change-ringing. (See quot. and cf. hunt v. 7.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [noun] > going through all the changes > changes > position in changes
lead1671
dodge1684
hunt1684
1684 R. Howlett School Recreat. 93 In all Peals upon five Bells there are two Hunts, to wit, a whole and an half-Hunt.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 462/2 The First, or Treble Bell, it is termed the Hunt, and the Second Bell the half Hunt, because they run from the round Ringing, through all the change of Bells backwards and forewards, before they come to round Ringing againe.
4. A hunting or oscillatory motion (see hunt v. 7b, hunting n. 1f).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [noun] > undesirable oscillation
hunting1880
hunt1920
1920 Nature 11 Mar. 46/1 It moves backwards and forwards very slightly, and this motion we term the ‘hunt’.
1934 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. 24 399 The ‘angle of hunt’, i.e. the angle of oscillation about the mean radial velocity, cannot exceed 360/N degrees, where N is the number of segments in the armature.
1937 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 41 410 The well behaved short period oscillation develops into an irritating hunt.
1952 A. Tustin Automatic & Man. Control 280 If the amplitude is not too large, and..we know how to reduce the amplitude by increasing the hunt frequency, it is possible to check a mean position of the system.
5. Telephony. An operation of hunting by a selector or switch (see hunting n. 1g).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > methods and procedures
release1882
trunking1896
hunting1912
dialling1927
hunt1927
trunk dialling1952
direct distance dialling1955
direct dialling1958
dial-up1967
1927 W. E. Hudson Director Syst. Autom. Telephony ii. 42 Relay C..is used to determine when the impulse train is finished so as to allow the automatic hunt to start.
1966 M. Rubin & C. E. Haller Communication Switching Syst. i. 31 The hunt motion is a vertical move of the wipers along the contact bank.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
hunt-breakfast n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > breakfast or morning meal
forme-metea1175
breakfast1463
disjune1491
jentation1599
jenticulation1658
meat breakfast1728
English breakfast1773
déjeuner1787
dejeune1788
fork-breakfast1812
tea-breakfast1825
cooked breakfast1848
chota hazri1863
hunt-breakfast1877
petit déjeuner1879
brekker1889
brekkie1904
Continental breakfast1911
prayer breakfast1930
Oslo breakfast1937
fry1959
1877 A. Trollope Amer. Senator II. xxiv. 254 That old farmer at the hunt breakfast.
1897 Daily Tel. 23 Nov. 9/3 A hunt-breakfast was given to the followers of the East Kent foxhounds.
1973 K. Giles File on Death v. 133 The other one..kept pawing the ladies..and falling off his horse after the Hunt Breakfast.
hunt-button n.
ΚΠ
1859 J. S. Rarey Art of taming Horses (new ed.) xi. 183 Scarlet-coated, many with the Brocklesby hunt button.
hunt-dinner n.
ΚΠ
1844 B. Disraeli Coningsby iii. v It was at the Hunt dinner.
hunt-servant n.
ΚΠ
1894 J. D. Astley Fifty Years of my Life II. 5 Horses, hounds, and hunt-servants have never been better turned out.
b.
hunt-weary adj.
ΚΠ
a1861 A. H. Clough Poems & Prose Remains (1869) II. 467 Artemis..alone, hunt-weary, Unto a dell..her foot unerring Had guided.
C2. † hunt-beast n. Obsolete a beast of the chase.† hunt-spear n. Obsolete a hunting-spear.
hunt ball n. a ball given by members of a hunt.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > ball or dance > [noun] > other balls or dances
carolc1300
buttock-ball1698
redoubt1698
ridotto1708
race ball1770
county ball1771
dress ball?1772
promenade1778
waltz1802
hunt ball1807
dignity ball1834
ball-royala1843
polkery1845
jigging-party1872
prom1879
Cinderella dance1883
dinner dance1887
white ball1891
cotillion1898
taxi dance1910
Stampede Dance1950
go-go1965
1807 Sporting Mag. 31 40/1 The annual Hunt Ball took place at Chepstow.
1853 E. C. Gaskell Ruth I. i. 13 The annual hunt-ball was to take place.
1933 A. Powell From View to Death iv. 113 Ungainly young men who had had a glass too much of champagne at hunt-ball suppers.
1968 A. Diment Bang Bang Birds x. 193 Penny told us about a hunt ball she had attended recently.
1973 K. Giles File on Death iv. 90 'E provides the catering for the 'unt ball at seven guineas the ticket.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animals hunted > [noun]
preya1250
wildc1275
felon1297
wild beastc1325
gamec1330
venison1338
venerya1375
chase1393
waitha1400
quarryc1500
gibier1514
wild meat1529
hunt-beast1535
beasts of warren1539
outlaw1599
course1607
big game1773
head1795
meat1851
the world > food and drink > hunting > thing hunted or game > [noun]
preya1250
gamec1330
chase1393
waitha1400
purchasea1450
small gamec1474
quarryc1500
gibier1514
meat1529
hunt-beast1535
hunt1588
course1607
felon1735
ground-game1872
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 480 He ordanit..That na hunt beist with schutting sould be slane.
hunt-sergeant n. an officer of Massachusetts in the colonial and provincial period, who had charge of the hunts (carried on with hounds) for hostile Indians.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > [noun] > pursuit > hostile or violent > man-hunt or man-hunting > one who pursues American Indians
hunt-sergeant1706
1706–7 in E. Ames & A. C. Goodell Acts Province Mass. Bay (1896–1922) l. 599 Persons who shall..have them [hounds] at all times in readiness to attend the hunt serjeant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > [noun] > spear
boar-spear1465
otter spear1540
boar-staff1579
hunt-spear1594
wolf-spear1823
1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido iii. sig. D3 Ascanius..Bearing his huntspeare brauely in his hand.
Draft additions 1993
hunt sab n. colloquial = hunt saboteur n. at Additions below; also as v. intransitive, to act as a hunt saboteur (present participle in quot.); cf. sab n.2
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun] > disrupting hunt
hunt saboteur1964
hunt saboteuse1977
saboteur1977
sab1978
hunt sab1981
sabbing1983
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > hunt [verb (intransitive)] > disrupt the hunt
hunt sab1981
1981 N.Y. Times 11 Feb. c1/5 The ‘hunt sabs’, as they call themselves, are mostly young, and many are vegetarians.
1986 Peace News 20 June 5/1 Sixty odd Hunt Sabs..talking and debating with the forty-strong hunt.
1986 G. F. Newman Set Thief 8 In a village..where she had been hunt sabbing.., it [sc. the car] had been almost totally vandalized by hunt supporters.
Draft additions 1993
hunt saboteur n. a person whose intention is to disrupt a hunt.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun] > disrupting hunt
hunt saboteur1964
hunt saboteuse1977
saboteur1977
sab1978
hunt sab1981
sabbing1983
1964 Western Times (Exeter) 8 May 9/7 A broken jaw is said to be one of the relics hunt saboteurs took away with them from a meet of the Culmstock Otter Hunt at Colyford on Saturday.
1986 Financial Times 20 Oct. 1/1 Police are investigating clashes between hunt saboteurs and the North Surrey and Sussex Beagles at Lingfield.
Draft additions 1993
hunt saboteuse n. rare a female hunt saboteur.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun] > disrupting hunt
hunt saboteur1964
hunt saboteuse1977
saboteur1977
sab1978
hunt sab1981
sabbing1983
1977 ‘E. Crispin’ Glimpses of Moon xi. 215 ‘Polluters,’ said the hunt saboteuse.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
huntv.
/hʌnt/, U.S. /hənt/ 1. figurative.1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 184 Sa thay think to bleir ȝour E, And syne at ȝow to hount.
a. intransitive. To go in pursuit of wild animals or game; to engage in the chase. Also of animals: to pursue their prey.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (intransitive)]
huntc1000
chasec1320
sporta1635
to go out1749
shikar1872
c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 92/11 Ne canst þu huntian buton mid nettum.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 172 Gif him þince þæt he huntige, beorge him georne wið his fynd.
c1131 Anglo-Saxon Chron. anno 1127 Þa sægon & herdon fela men feole huntes hunten.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 718 Ȝe huntieð [c1300 Otho honteþ] i þes kinges friðe.
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 256/5 Ase he hountede In a dai In Iolifte j-nouȝ.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xviii. i Some [beasts] hunteþ by nyȝt.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3519 Esau went for till hunt.
a1400 Octouian 891 To hounty yn ech mannys boundes Hyt was hys wone.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 36/1 [He] sente for the Mayre and Aldermenne of London to hym..too haue them hunte and bee mery with hym.
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 201 I have beheld them instructing their young ones, how to hunt.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth III. 270 The dog kinds..love to hunt in company.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 91 One day the son went forth to hunt.
b. With prepositions (after, †to, †at, for). (Now blending with sense 3a.)
ΚΠ
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 13467 Þatt teȝȝ sholldenn hunntenn. Acc nohht wiþþ hundess affterr der Acc affterr menn wiþþ spelless.
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Dido. 981 Ony wilde bor..That they han huntid to in this foreste.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xiv. 63 Grete plentee of wylde bestes for to hunt at.
1486 Bk. St. Albans E ij b When ye hunt at the Roo.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xii. 183 Yo do nought elles..but hunte after the hare thourgh the feldes.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World i. 9 Walks out into the Woods, and hunts about for Pecary, Warree..or Deer.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 155 Training them up to hunt for fish.
2. transitive. To pursue (wild animals or game) for the purpose of catching or killing; to chase for food or sport; (often spec.) to pursue with hounds or other tracking beasts. Also said of animals chasing their prey.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)]
huntc1000
chasec1330
teisec1400
work1568
drive1622
call1768
rattle1829
shikar1882
c1000 Ælfric Homilies I. 576 Ic asende..mine huntan, and hi huntiað hi of ælcere dune and of ælcere hylle.
c1275 Laȝamon Brut 1423 Corineus was to wode ivare for hunti deor wilde.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xii. vi Scheo [the owl] hunteþ and eeteþ myes and reremyesse.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xii. xiii Swalewes þat fleeþ in þe aiere hunteþ flies.
c1480 (a1400) St. Placidus 85 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 71 He went to hont þe auld bestis, as he wes wont.
1486 Bk. St. Albans E iv a All other beestys that huntid shall be.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. iii. 1 The King he is hunting the Deare. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 61 The proper Time..T'inclose the Stags in Toyls, and hunt the Hare. View more context for this quotation
1788 W. Blane Acct. Hunting Excurs. 16 The hunting the wild buffaloe is also performed by shooting him from elephants.
1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville III. 45 To hunt the elk, deer, and ahsahta or bighorn.
1859 J. S. Rarey Art of taming Horses (new ed.) xii. 203 When the hounds hunt anything beside fox the word is ‘Ware Riot’.
3. figurative and gen.
a. intransitive. To search, seek (after or for anything), esp. with eagerness and exertion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)]
seekc888
aseekc1000
i-secheOE
huntc1175
to seek afterc1175
beseechc1200
fand?c1225
ofseche?c1225
to seek forc1250
atseekc1275
furiec1290
forseeka1300
outseekc1300
upseekc1315
to look after ——c1330
wait1340
laita1350
searchc1350
pursuea1382
ensearchc1384
to feel and findc1384
inseekc1384
looka1398
fraist?a1400
umseeka1400
require?c1400
walec1400
to look up1468
prowla1475
to see for ——c1485
to look for ——a1492
to have in the wind1540
sue1548
vent?1575
seek1616
explore1618
dacker1634
research1650
to see out for1683
quest1752
to see after ——1776
c1175 [see sense 1b].
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 54 Ha huntet efter Pris.
a1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 203 Hwuder schal ich fleon hwon þe deouel hunteð efter me.
c1305 St. Lucy 119 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 104 Hit is al for noȝt þat þu huntest aboute.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Qiiiiv Sathanas and his minysters, whiche dayly hunteth to take thy soule.
1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. 1 Thess. ii. f. iiiv We hunted so litell for rewarde at your handes.
1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature ix. 211 Hunting after knowledge which must perish with them.
1830 T. De Quincey Life R. Bentley in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 672/1 Hunting backward, upon the dimmest traces, into the aboriginal condition of things.
1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles i. iii. 15 Spending all his superfluous minutes hunting for a house.
1895 Law Times 100 3/1 The judge and Master Macdonell hunted through the White Book, and unearthed a rule sufficiently elastic.
b. transitive. To go eagerly in search of, search for, seek (esp. with desire and diligence); to endeavour to capture, obtain, or find.
ΚΠ
c1480 (a1400) St. Placidus 126 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 72 Þi gud dedis causis me, as þou [me] huntis, to hont þe.
1573 J. Davidson Breif Commendatioun Vprichtnes xli. 19 He neuer huntit benefice, Nor catchit was with Couatice.
1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) i. ccxxxv. 14 He therefore through close paths of wary hast Hunts his escape.
1753 J. Bartram in W. Darlington Memorials J. Bartram & H. Marshall (1849) 195 Next morning..we hunted plants till breakfast.
1818 E. P. Fordham Pers. Narr. Trav. (1906) 221 The next day I shall cross the Little Wabash to ‘hunt land’.
1834 Visit to Texas i. 10 An old Tennessean and his wife with their sons were going ‘to hunt land’.
1834 Visit to Texas xiii. 122 He sometimes sends out three or four men to collect and mark them. This is called hunting cattle.
1891 M. E. Ryan Told in Hills iv. iii. 309 All were sleepy enough to hunt beds early.
1894 S. Baring-Gould Deserts S. France I. 140 It [the truffle] is hunted regularly by trained dogs.
1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy iii. 38 Flood..suggested that all hands hunt their blankets and turn in for the night.
c. To follow (as a hound does); to track.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow [verb (transitive)] > follow (a track or trail) > follow track or trail of
troda1250
tracec1440
track1565
train1575
tract1577
hunt1579
foot1581
trail1590
to tread the feet of1596
insist1631
pad1861
sleuth1905
back-trail1907
back-track1925
1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Ep. Ded. In regard wherof, I scorne and spue out the rakehellye route of our ragged rymers (for so themselues vse to hunt the letter).
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A4v That path..Which when by tract they hunted had throughout, At length it brought them to a hollowe caue.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess ii. 43 ‘They hunt old trails’ said Cyril ‘very well; But when did woman ever yet invent?’
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xxxii. 417 I hunted the seams still farther up the glacier.
4.
a. transitive. To pursue with force, violence, or hostility; to chase and drive before one; to put to flight; to chase or drive away or out. See huntaway n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > causing to go away > command to go away [verb (transitive)] > drive away
feezec890
adriveeOE
aflemeeOE
off-driveeOE
flemeOE
withdrivec1000
adreveOE
to drive outOE
biwevea1300
chasec1300
void13..
catcha1325
firk1340
enchasec1380
huntc1385
to catch awayc1390
forcatch1393
to put offa1398
to cast awaya1400
to put outc1400
repel?a1439
exterminate1541
chasten1548
propulse1548
keir1562
hie1563
depulse1570
band1580
bandy1591
flit1595
ferret1601
profugate1603
extermine1634
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow [verb (transitive)] > pursue > with hostility or violence
seekc825
to seek afterc1175
chasec1330
huntc1385
persecute1477
to gun for1893
bloodhound1935
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Phyllis. 2414 So huntith hym the tempest to and fro.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 13658 Þei huntid him as a dogge Riȝt out of her synagogge.
1483 W. Caxton tr. A. Chartier Curial sig. iij She is by force hunted away.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cxxxix. [cxl.] 11 A malicious and wicked person shal be hunted awaye and destroyed.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias li. 110 To hunt them foorth lyke theeues.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 31 The Lord would hunt her out of it.
1808 W. Scott Life Dryden in Dryden's Wks. I. 205 He might lay his account with being hunted out of society.
1886 R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log 25 They are hunted by ‘the bobby’ from place to place.
b. figurative. To pursue with injury or annoyance; to persecute, pester, worry.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > harass [verb (transitive)]
tawc893
ermec897
swencheOE
besetOE
bestandc1000
teenOE
baitc1175
grieve?c1225
war?c1225
noyc1300
pursuec1300
travailc1300
to work (also do) annoyc1300
tribula1325
worka1325
to hold wakenc1330
chase1340
twistc1374
wrap1380
cumbera1400
harrya1400
vexc1410
encumber1413
inquiet1413
molest?a1425
course1466
persecutec1475
trouble1489
sturt1513
hare1523
hag1525
hale1530
exercise1531
to grate on or upon1532
to hold or keep waking1533
infest1533
scourge1540
molestate1543
pinch1548
trounce1551
to shake upa1556
tire1558
moila1560
pester1566
importune1578
hunt1583
moider1587
bebait1589
commacerate1596
bepester1600
ferret1600
harsell1603
hurry1611
gall1614
betoil1622
weary1633
tribulatea1637
harass1656
dun1659
overharry1665
worry1671
haul1678
to plague the life out of1746
badger1782
hatchel1800
worry1811
bedevil1823
devil1823
victimize1830
frab1848
mither1848
to pester the life out of1848
haik1855
beplague1870
chevy1872
obsede1876
to get on ——1880
to load up with1880
tail-twist1898
hassle1901
heckle1920
snooter1923
hassle1945
to breathe down (the back of) (someone's) neck1946
to bust (a person's) chops1953
noodge1960
monster1967
1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 387 But hunger hunteth me.
1678 T. Otway Friendship in Fashion ii. 12 He hunts and kisses you when he's drunk.
1807 Salmagundi 13 Feb. 41 When..I choose to hunt a Monsieur for my own particular amusement.
1860 N. Hawthorne Marble Faun II. viii. 99 These pests..had hunted the two travellers at every stage of their journey.
5. To scour (a district) in pursuit of game; spec. to make (a district) the field of fox-hunting; hence, figurative to search (a place) thoroughly and keenly for something which one hopes to find there; to examine every nook and cranny of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > search for game
hunta1440
draw1575
try1909
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting specific animals > [verb (transitive)] > make district the field of fox hunting
hunt1569
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)] > search (a place)
seekc1230
searcha1382
lay1560
ferret1582
sift1611
inquire?1615
hunt1712
screenge1825
a1440 Sir Degrev. 174 I wulle ffore thy lordes tene, Honte hys fforesstus and grene.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 121 The Citizens haue free libertie of hunting a certeyne circuite aboute London.
1712 J. Swift Let. 28 Oct. I must now go hunt those dry letters for materials.
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 101 Let us hunt the waterfalls higher up.
1875 G. J. Whyte-Melville Riding Recoll. (1879) i. 9 When he [Sir R. Sutton] hunted the Cottesmore country.
1899 N.E.D. at Hunt Mod. I have hunted the house for it, but cannot lay my hands on it.
6. To use or employ in hunting; to ride (a horse), direct or manage (hounds), in the chase.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > employ in hunting
hunt1607
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 148 The best time to..traine them [sc. greyhounds] to their game... Some hunt them at ten months if they be males, and at 8. monthes if they be females.
1708 London Gaz. No. 4465/6 The Owner..to certify, that his Horse was constantly Hunted the last Season.
1735 W. Somervile Chace i. 83 To rear, feed, hunt, and discipline the Pack.
1857 Earl of Malmesbury Mem. Ex-Minister (1884) II. 80 In consequence of his always hunting his pointers down wind.
1875 G. J. Whyte-Melville Riding Recoll. (1879) i. 6 He hunts one pack of his own hounds in Northamptonshire.
1889 in Horse & Hound 24 Aug. 516/2 Horses described as ‘hunters’..must have been hunted, and be capable of being hunted.
7.
a. Change-ringing. To alter the position of (a bell) in successive changes so as to shift it by degrees from the first place to the last ( hunting up), or from the last to the first ( hunting down). Also absol. or intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [verb (intransitive)] > go through all the changes > position in changes
lead1671
dodge1684
hunt1684
to make places1874
1684 R. Howlett School Recreat. 92 So by turns, 'till every Bell being hunted up and down, comes into its proper Place again.
1684 R. Howlett School Recreat. 96 Whatsoever Bells you follow when you Hunt up, the same Bells in the same order you must follow in Hunting down.
1880 C. A. W. Troyte in Grove Dict. Music I. 334 The bells work in regular order from being first bell to being last, striking two blows as first and two as last: this is called by ringers ‘hunting up and down’.
b. intransitive. Of a governor, a synchronous electric motor or generator, etc.: to run alternately faster and more slowly than the desired speed. Hence more widely of other machines, systems, etc.: to oscillate about a desired speed, position, or state to an undesirable extent, to jump backwards and forwards.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > render mechanical [verb (intransitive)] > of machine: operate > oscillate
hunt1877
pump1901
1877 Inst. Mech. Engineers: Proc. 273 Siemens' interesting governor..had..a great tendency to ‘hunt’,..if it was first left a little behind, and then got an excess of force, it would be constantly ‘hunting’ or oscillating about a mean position.
1894 Rep. Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 759 A Watt governor..does not hunt if designed for stability.
1902 Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 1901 18 374/2 The motors attempt to follow the generator exactly. If the latter pulsates, the motors pulsate also; they vibrate about a mean position, ‘hunting’ or pumping.
1921 M. Walker Diagn. Troubles Electr. Machines vi. 239 In the case of steam turbines and steam engines, it is possible for the governor to hunt in a perfectly periodic manner.
1951 S. Deutsch Theory & Design Television Receivers xiii. 431 If the feedback loop is underdamped, the oscillator frequency will swing below 15,750 cycles per second, whereupon the correcting voltage causes a swing above 15,750 cycles per second, etc. In other words, the oscillator will ‘hunt’ about the correct frequency.
1953 Electronic Engin. 25 156/1 Since the torque balance has an on-off action..it has a tendency to hunt.
1969 Daily Tel. 10 Jan. 26/4 The British train will be able to use existing railway tracks because of a new type of suspension... This will stop the train ‘hunting’ sideways.
1969 J. Argenti Managem. Techniques 99 If the action is too late or too weak, control will be inadequate, if too early or too strong the system will ‘hunt’—i.e. swing violently above and below the standard.
1970 J. Earl How to choose Tuners & Amplifiers iii. 74 On weak stereo signals this circuit can ‘hunt’ over mono and stereo in a very disconcerting manner, switching to stereo as the signal rises and back to mono as it falls.
8. To call upon (a person) to fill up or drink off his glass: chase v.1 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (transitive)] > drink intoxicating liquor > call to drink
hunt1780
1780 Bannatyne in Mirror No. 76. ⁋11 Umphraville received a slap on the shoulder from one of the company, who at the same time reminded him that he was hunted. My friend..thanked the gentleman..for his attention, and drank off his bumper.
9. Telephony. Of a selector or switch: to carry out the operation of hunting (hunting n. 1g). Const. for, over.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate by telephone [verb (intransitive)] > methods or procedures
hunt1924
1924 W. Aitken Automatic Telephone Syst. III. lvi. 275 Dialling O..results in the starting of a free-trunk finder, which automatically hunts for the calling line.
1924 H. H. Harrison Introd. Strowger Syst. Autom. Telephony i. 26 The preselector or line switch..hunts to find one of ten or more idle group selectors.
1933 K. B. Miller Telephone Theory & Pract. III. v. 250 It is usual to adjust the speed to permit the selector to hunt over a group of 30 trunks in 1 second.
1961 Proc. Inst. Electr. Engineers 107 b. Suppl. 161/2 A maximum of 1·8 millisec is required to select a channel,..and a further period of 900 microsec to hunt for a free channel.
Phrases
P1. to hunt down.
a. To chase (an animal) until caught or killed; to run to earth, to bring to bay; figurative to pursue and overcome or destroy; also, to pursue until one gets possession or mastery of. (See also 7.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > hunt down or bring to bay
stallc1400
to set up1608
to run down1650
to hunt down1711
to tire down1835
to stick up1850
bail1872
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 125. ¶8 We should then single every Criminal out of the Herd, and hunt him down.
1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) I. 291 Errors, popular or not, are lawful game, and free to every one to hunt down.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 217 Refusing to spy out and hunt down little congregations of Nonconformists.
1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith iv. 150 Let us..try to hunt down this fugitive question.
b. New Zealand. (See quot. 1933.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > rear sheep or wool [verb (transitive)] > herd > drive down from hills
to hunt down1933
1933 L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 28 Oct. 17/7 Hunt down, to hunt the sheep off the higher parts of their winter country on to lower, safer spurs when snow is expected; e.g., ‘We hunted down every day for a week, but no snow came.’
1961 B. Crump Hang on a Minute Mate 85 I want you blokes to go round to the Snow Hut and hunt the sheep down into the valley from the open spur.
P2. to hunt out: to expel or drive from cover or shelter by hunting or persistent search; to track out; to arrive at or discover by investigation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > research > find out by investigation [verb (transitive)]
seekc900
seeOE
searcha1382
takea1382
inquire1390
undergrope?a1412
explore1531
to pry out1548
to scan out1548
to hunt out1576
sound1596
exquire1607
pervestigate1610
pump1611
trace1642
probe1649
to hunt up1741
to pick a person's brains (also brain)1770
verify1801
to get a load of1929
sus1966
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > expel > from seclusion or shelter
disharbour1566
to hunt out1576
unlodge1598
unnestle1598
unkennel1604
uncloister1611
unnest1683
discloister1881
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > finding or discovery > find or discover [verb (transitive)] > by searching or tracking down > and bring to light
to search outc1425
to hunt out1576
unrip?1576
to ferret out1577
to fetch up1608
fish1632
prog1655
rummage1797
rout1814
exhume1819
excavate1840
ferret up1847
unearth1863
fossick?1870
exhumate1881
1576 A. Fleming tr. P. Vatinius in Panoplie Epist. 128 Except he hath taken flight into Dalmatia, from whence (notwithstanding he lurk for a season) we intend to hunt him out.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 29 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) Not certainely affirming any thing, but by conferring of times, language, monuments, and such like, I doe hunt out a probability.
1733 Ess. Hunting 37 Or Spaniel, which will hunt out their Masters, or their Master's Horse, distinctly from all others.
1881 J. Taylor Sc. Covenanters (Cassell) 128 To assist the soldiers in hunting out and butchering the hapless fugitives.
P3. to hunt up: to prosecute the search for, until one finds; to pursue with eager investigation; to ‘look up’ (what is not found without energetic search). (See also sense 7.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > research > find out by investigation [verb (transitive)]
seekc900
seeOE
searcha1382
takea1382
inquire1390
undergrope?a1412
explore1531
to pry out1548
to scan out1548
to hunt out1576
sound1596
exquire1607
pervestigate1610
pump1611
trace1642
probe1649
to hunt up1741
to pick a person's brains (also brain)1770
verify1801
to get a load of1929
sus1966
1741 Coll. S. Carolina Hist. Soc. IV. 33 The General..sent out the Indians to hunt up the Spanish horses and cattell.
1791 W. Bartram Trav. N. & S. Carolina 488 They enter..with a view of chasing the roebuck, and hunting up the sturdy bear.
1817 J. Bradbury Trav. Amer. 265 If he finds them within three or four miles of his house, he thinks himself fortunate; but it sometimes happens that he is two days in ‘hunting them up’, as they term it.
1844 A. R. Smith Adventures Mr. Ledbury I. vii. 75 [He] employed his time in hunting up all the old students that he had known formerly.
1884 J. A. H. Murray in 13th Addr. Philol. Soc. 20 In..hunting up earlier quotations for recent words.
P4. to hunt change (change n. Phrases 3), to hunt counter (counter adv. 1), to hunt in couples at couple n. 1b, to hunt the foil foil n.4, to hunt at force (see force n.1 22a), to hunt riot n., to hunt at the view (view n. Phrases 4a): see these words.
ΚΠ
1627 J. Taylor Armado sig. D2 Allaye, Relaye, Foreloyning, Hunt-cownter, Hunt-change, Quarry, Reward, and a thousand more such Vtopian fragments of confused Gibberish.
Compounds
C1. † hunt-counter n. Obsolete (in Shakespeare Folio, apparently) taken as one who hunts counter or traces the scent backward.But the Quartos have ‘you hunt counter’, i.e. you are on the wrong scent, you are off the track, which Nares and Schmidt accept.† hunt-smock n. Obsolete one who ‘runs after’ women.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > work done by hounds > action of hounds [verb (intransitive)] > follow wrong scent
to hunt (the) changea1425
to run riot1594
hunt-counter1600
to run at check1667
riot1781
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > an error, mistake > [noun] > serious error, blunder > one who commits
hunt-counter1600
blunderer1741
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. ii. 92 You hunt counter, hence, auaunt.
1765 S. Johnson Note Hunt-counter, that is blunderer.]
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [noun] > sexual indulgence > womanizing or associating with loose women > one who
horlinga1200
holourc1230
whore-mana1325
putourc1390
putroura1425
whoremastera1425
whoremonger?a1472
putyer1477
whoredomerc1485
holarda1500
whore-keeper1530
mutton-monger1532
smell-smock?1545
stallion1553
woman-louper1568
limb-lifter1579
Lusty Laurence1582
punker1582
wencher1593
womanist1608
belly-bumper1611
sheep-biter1611
stringer1613
fleshmongera1616
hunt-smock1624
whorer1624
womanizer1626
woman errant1628
mongera1637
linen-lifter1652
whorster1654
whorehopper1664
cousin1694
smocker1708
mutton-master1729
woman dangler1850
masher1872
chippy chaser1887
chaser1894
stud1895
molrower1896
skirt-chaser1942
1624 P. Massinger Bond-man ii. i. sig. D2 Your rambling hunt-smocke, feeles strange alterations.
C2. In names of various games.
hunt the fox n. = fox and hounds n. at fox n. Compounds 2d.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > hiding or chasing game > [noun] > hare and hounds
hunt the foxa1600
hunt the hare1762
fox and hounds1821
hare and hounds1839
fox-chase1856
paperchase1856
paper hunt1871
a1600 in Strutt Sports & Past. iv. iv. 487 When we play and hunt the fox, I outrun all the boys in the schoole.
hunt the hare n. = hare and hounds n. at hare n. Compounds 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > hiding or chasing game > [noun] > hare and hounds
hunt the foxa1600
hunt the hare1762
fox and hounds1821
hare and hounds1839
fox-chase1856
paperchase1856
paper hunt1871
1762 in W. L. Collins Etoniana (1865) xii. 179 [A list of Games popular at Eton in 1762 comprises] Hunt the dark lanthorn [known also at Harrow].
1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Hunt-the-hare, a game among children—played on the ice as well as in the fields.
hunt the slipper n. a parlour game in which all the players but one sit in a ring and pass a slipper covertly from one to another, the remaining player standing in the middle and seeking to get hold of it.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > parlour and party games > [noun] > hunt the slipper, etc.
hunt the whistle1757
hunt the slipper1766
shuffle the slipper1766
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xi. 100 Last of all, they sate down to hunt the slipper.
1885 Athenæum 16 May 635/3 The courtiers, playing at ‘hunt the slipper’ in a very decorous manner.
1897 Daily News 5 May 5/3 When the game of hunt the slipper was broken off for the day, the Committee..took the evidence of Mr. Lionel Phillips.
hunt the squirrel n. an outdoor game in which one player is chased by another who must follow all his windings in and out of a ring formed by the remaining players; also called cat and mouse.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > hiding or chasing game > [noun] > other chasing games
course-a-park1613
hunt the squirrel1742
Tom Tiddler's ground1816
one catch all1854
Relievo1877
pig in the middle1887
Red Rover1891
ring-a-levio1891
stuck-in-the-mud1944
British Bulldog1949
kiss chase1957
stick-in-the-mud1968
1742 H. Walpole Lett. to H. Mann 8 Oct. The raising of the siege of Prague, and Prince Charles and Marechal Maillebois playing at hunt the squirrel, have disgusted me.
1883 W. W. Newell Games & Songs Amer. Children cxvii. (Cent).
hunt the whistle n. a game resembling hunt the slipper, in which the seeker is blindfolded and has a whistle fastened to his dress, which the other players blow at intervals.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > parlour and party games > [noun] > hunt the slipper, etc.
hunt the whistle1757
hunt the slipper1766
shuffle the slipper1766
1757 S. Foote Author ii. 27 We ben't enough for Hunt the Whistle, nor Blind-Man's Buff.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1c1000
n.2c1405
v.c1000