hood

Pronunciation

• IPA: /hʊd/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English hod, inherited from Old English hōd (“hood, soft head covering”),^[2][3][4][5] from Proto-West Germanic *hōd,^[3][4] cognate with Old Frisian hōd, Dutch hoed (“hat”) and German Hut (“hat”),^[2][3] and related to hat;^[4] Etymonline suggests PIE *kadh-, to cover.^[3] The spelling with -oo- is from the early 15th century.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A covering for the head and neck: before 700 in the OED, about 700 in Barnhart.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

A hood worn as a mark of academic or official rank is from 1362.^[6] The verb, to put a hood on, is from about 1200.^[3] Hood-like things and animal parts are named from the 17th century.^[3] A folding cover of a carriage is from 1826, and of a pram by 1866.^[3] The hinged cover of a car engine is by 1905, called a bonnet in Britain.^[3][7] Little Red Riding Hood (1729) translates Perrault's Petit Chaperon Rouge.^[3]

Timeline

• before 700 – a head covering.^[6]
• c. 1200 – the verb.^[3]
• 1362 – an academic hood.^[6]
• 1826 – a carriage hood.^[3]
• 1905 – a car's engine cover.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A covering for the head and neck, often attached to a coat.
2. A folding cover over a pram or open car.
3. (US) The hinged cover over a car engine; a bonnet.
4. A cover over a cooker or machine to draw off fumes.
5. A coloured band of cloth worn over a gown to show a university degree.

Verb

1. To cover with a hood.

Word family

• hoodlike
• hoody
• hoodless
• hoodie
• hoodmold
• monkshood
• hoodwink
• hooded

Related words

• hat
• -hood

Usage notes

Hood is also American slang for a gangster (1930), short for hoodlum,^[3][2] and for a neighbourhood (late 20th century).^[8][5] The suffix -hood is a different word, from Old English hād, condition.^[2]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press