hind

hind¹ female deer

Etymology

The female deer is inherited from Middle English hinde,^[2][3] inherited from Old English hind,^{[4][5][6][7][8]} inherited from Proto-Germanic *hindō,^[9][10][6] for which Etymonline and Hoad give *hinþjō.^[5][7] It is cognate with Old Norse hind, Dutch hinde, Old High German hinta and German Hinde.^{[4][5][6][9][11]} Kroonen derives it probably from the PIE root Proto-Indo-European *ḱem- (“hornless”),^[9] and Barnhart, Etymonline and Ayto from a derivative of it, *ḱemtí-.^[6][5][12] The same root is seen in Ancient Greek κεμάς (kemás, “young deer”) and Lithuanian šmùlas (“hornless”),^[6][5][7][3] so the hind would be the hornless one, as opposed to the hart.^[2][13][6] The OED records both this connection and an older suggestion that linked the word with a Gothic verb meaning "to catch".^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The female of the deer: in Old English glossaries, where hind translates Latin cerva;^[8][4] Barnhart dates it before 970.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its sense since Old English, narrowing in hunting use to the female of the red deer, especially in or after its third year.^[4][11][2] From 1735 it was also applied to several fishes of the grouper family.^[4][2]

Timeline

• before 970 – Old English hind, female deer.^[6][4]
• 1735 – a fish of the grouper family.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A female deer, especially a female red deer; compare hart and stag.^[2][4][11]
2. Any of several spotted groupers.^[2][4]

hind² farm servant

Etymology

The farm servant is inherited from Middle English hine, singular, from the Old English and Middle English plural hīne, household servants,^[4][7][2] apparently inherited from Old English hīna, the genitive plural of hīwan (“members of a household”),^{[4][11][2][3][14]} as in hīna fæder (“head of a household”), which glosses Latin paterfamilias.^[4][11][13] The final -d is a later addition, as in sound and astound.^[4][11][13] The AHD calls the Old English source only possible.^[15] The Old English word is related to hide², a measure of land, and to home.^[3][11][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Household servants, as a plural: in the Old English Rushworth Gospels.^[4] As a singular, a servant: in Hali Meidenhad (c1230).^[4]

Semantic evolution

The plural sense "household servants" died out in the 15th century, and the singular came to mean a servant, especially a farm labourer.^[4][11] In Middle English it could also mean a lad or simply a fellow, which did not outlast the 16th century.^[4] In some parts of England a hind was a farm bailiff or steward (1495),^[4][2][7] and in Scotland and northern England a skilled, married farm worker given a cottage on the farm (1596).^[4][2] From the late 16th century it was also a rustic or peasant, often with contempt.^[4][2] Wright recorded the word for a farm labourer or ploughman across Scotland and much of England, in forms such as hine and hyne.^[16]

Timeline

• Old English – plural hīne, household servants (obsolete by 1425).^[4]
• c1230 – singular, a servant; later a farm labourer.^[4]
• 1297 – a lad, a fellow (obsolete by 1550).^[4]
• 1495 – a farm bailiff or steward.^[4]
• 1520 – a farm labourer, in Merriam-Webster's dating.^[2]
• ?1577 – a rustic, a country person.^[4]
• 1596 – in Scotland, a skilled farm worker with a cottage.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic or dialect) A farm labourer, especially in Scotland and northern England a skilled one provided with a cottage on the farm.^{[2][4][11][16]}
2. A farm bailiff or steward.^[2][4][11]
3. (archaic) A rustic or peasant.^[2][4]

hind³ rear, back

Etymology

The adjective is inherited from Middle English hinde, earlier hint,^[6][2][17] perhaps shortened from Old English behindan (“behind, at the back”),^{[5][6][11][18][12]} through bihinden,^[6] or from or influenced by hindan (“from behind”);^[5][4][19] Merriam-Webster takes it as a back-formation from hinder (“behind”), hindan and hindema (“last”),^[2] and Hoad as abstracted from hindeweard (“backward”) and behindan.^[7] The OED says that the Germanic connections are certain but the exact history of the Middle English forms is obscure.^[4] The Old English words go back to Proto-Germanic *hinder (“behind, beyond”),^[17][5] and are cognate with Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌰 (hindana, “beyond, behind”), 𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂 (hindar, “beyond, behind”), Old High German hintana (“behind”) and German hinten and hinter.^[4][6][7][2] Hinder contains the contrastive suffix Proto-Indo-European *-teros;^[6][4] the root is obscure.^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Situated at the back, rear: about 1300 in Etymonline and Barnhart, who finds it first in the compound hindeward before 1300;^[5][6] the OED's first record is in Sir Beues (a1400).^[4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective is used mostly of things that come in pairs, front and back, above all of animals' legs: Johnson (1755) gave hind legs as his example.^[4][20] It has the comparative hinder and the superlative hindmost.^[19][20] From the late 19th century it was also used as a noun, short for hindquarter,^[4][2] and in American slang hind or hind end is the buttocks.^[21]

Timeline

• before 1300 – in the compound hindeward.^[6]
• c. 1300 – rear, at the back.^[5][6]
• a1400 – first OED record, in Sir Beues.^[4]
• 1454 – the spelling hynde.^[6]
• 1892 – noun, short for hindquarter.^[4]
• 1929 – slang, the buttocks.^[21]

Meanings

Adjective

1. At or toward the back; rear, posterior: The cat stood up on its hind legs.^[19][2][4]

Noun

1. A hindquarter, as of beef.^[2][4]

Word family

• hindbrain
• hindgut
• hindquarter
• hindsight
• hindward
• hind limb