hoof

Meanings

Noun

• The tip of a toe of an ungulate such as a horse, ox or deer, strengthened by a thick keratin covering.
• The human foot.
• An ungula.

Verb

• To trample with hooves.
• To walk.
• To dance, especially as a professional.
• To kick, especially to kick a football a long way downfield with little accuracy.

Origin

• From Middle English hoof, hof, from Old English hōf, from Proto-Germanic *hōfaz (compare West Frisian hoef, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Danish hov, Norwegian hov, Swedish hov), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós (compare Sanskrit शफ, Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬟𐬀, possibly Czech, Polish kopyto).