haunch
/hɔːn(t)ʃ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.83 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The area encompassing the upper thigh, hip and buttocks on one side of a human, primate, or quadruped animal, especially one that can sit on its hindquarters.
Example Sentences
- "But I had no time to pursue these reflections; for the gray horse came to the door, and made me a sign to follow him into the third room where I saw a very comely mare, together with a colt and foal, sitting on their haunches upon mats of straw, not unartfully made, and perfectly neat and clean."
- "And the rabbit from his path-way Leaped aside, and at a distance Sat erect upon his haunches."
- "While Heracles, - the thews and cordage of his thighs Straitened and strained beyond the utmost stretch From quivering heel to haunch like sweating hawsers."
- "The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on."
- "He [Novak Djokovic] dropped to his haunches just inside the baseline as Centre Court rose to acclaim the champion, hugging South African [Kevin] Anderson at the net before skipping over towards his box and celebrating wildly in front of his coaching team and wife Jelena."
- "Now these are the Laws of the Jungle, and many and mighty are they; / But the head and the hoof of the Law and the haunch and the hump is—Obey!"
Etymology
From Middle English haunche, hanche, from Old French hanche, hance, anche (compare French hanche, Italian anca), from a Germanic source, probably Frankish *ankijā, from Proto-Germanic *ankijǭ (“joint; ankle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ang- (“joint; lith”). Cognate with Old High German ancha, encha, einka (“the leg; joint, bend”) (compare Old High German anchila, enchila (“ankle”), German Hanke (“haunch”), West Frisian hancke (“haunch”). More at ankle.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /hɔːn(t)ʃ/