hammock

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈhæmək/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish hamaca,^[2][3][4][5] from Taíno (an Arawakan language of Hispaniola),^[2][4][5] perhaps meaning “fish nets”.^[3] Earlier English forms were hamack and hamaca.^[3] The Dutch hangmat and German Hängematte were reshaped by folk etymology as if “hang-mat”.^[3] A different hammock, a variant of hummock, is unrelated.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first named a hanging bed of canvas or netting slung by cords at both ends, used especially by sailors.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Its meaning has stayed close to the original,^[2][6] though it was applied by transfer to the hanging nest of some birds.^[6]

Timeline

• 1550s – hamaca;^[3] the OED’s first quotation is 1555.^[6]
• 1626 – first date in Merriam-Webster.^[4]
• 1650s – the form hammock.^[3]
• 1856 – a hanging bird’s nest.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A hanging bed of canvas or netting slung between two supports.

Word family

• hammocklike

Related words

• hummock

References

1. [1] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] [3] [4] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. [1] [2] [3] [4] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. [1] [2] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press