hedge English · revision 39863

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Old English, 785|origins=gem-pro *hagjō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈhɛd͡ʒ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|hegge]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|hecg]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024)^(Bosworth-Toller) [[inh|gem-pro|*hagjō]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Ayto 2005)^(Köbler Germ)^(OED 2026) It is cognate with [[m|dum|hegghe]], [[m|nl|heg]], [[m|goh|hegga]] and [[m|de|Hecke]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and Barnhart and Klein add [[m|non|heggr|t=bird cherry]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)^(Dictionary.com 2016) It is related to Old English [[m|ang|haga|t=enclosure, hedge]], the source of [[haw]], and to [[m|ang|hege]], the source of the obsolete [[hay]], a fence.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline and Köbler trace it to the root [[ine-pro|*kagh-|t=to catch, seize; wickerwork, fence]], also the source of [[m|la|caulae|t=sheepfold]] and [[m|cy|cae|t=field, hedge]].^(Etymonline)^(Köbler Germ)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A fence or boundary, originally of any kind, living or dead:^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921) Old English, in a charter of 785.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart dates the Middle English form ''hegge'' to about 1250, in ''The Owl and the Nightingale'', with the surname ''Hegge'' recorded from 1188.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense, a barrier or means of defence, is recorded from 1340.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Because hedges sheltered vagrants, the noun used before another noun meant mean, low or illiterate, as in ''hedge-priest'' and ''hedge-school'';^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921)^(GDoS) Johnson (1755) noted that, so prefixed, it marked "something mean, vile, of the lowest class".^(Johnson 1755) The verb, to make a hedge or surround with one, dates from the late 14th century.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The sense "to avoid committing oneself" is from the 1590s, from the idea of hiding as if in a hedge,^(Etymonline) and the betting and financial sense, protecting oneself against loss by a transaction on the other side, from 1672, probably developed from ''to hedge in'' a debt by including it in a larger, better-secured one (1607).^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The noun in this sense is recorded from 1736,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and ''to hedge one's bets'' from the late 17th century.^(Cresswell 2021) In 19th-century criminal slang a ''hedge'', like a ''fence'', was a receiver of stolen goods.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 785 – Old English ''hecg'', in a charter.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c1250 – ''hegge'', in ''The Owl and the Nightingale''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1340 – a barrier, a defence.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1393 – verb, to make hedges, in Langland.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1590s – verb, to avoid committing oneself.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1672 – verb, to secure oneself against loss on a bet.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1736 – noun, the act or means of hedging.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1818 – (slang) a receiver of stolen goods.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A row of [[shrub|alt=shrubs]] or low [[tree|alt=trees]] planted closely together to form a [[fence]] or [[boundary]]: ''A thick hawthorn hedge divided the two fields.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # A [[barrier]] or means of [[protection]] against something.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A way of reducing the [[risk]] of loss on a [[bet]] or [[investment]]: ''Gold is often bought as a hedge against inflation.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # A cautious or [[evasive]] statement.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To surround or separate with a hedge.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # To hem in or restrict: ''Their freedom was hedged about with rules.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # To avoid giving a clear answer or committing oneself.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+ # To protect oneself against loss on a bet or investment by making balancing transactions.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hedger]]

+ * [[hedgy]]

+ * [[hedgingly]]

+ * [[hedgeless]]

+ * [[hedgehog]]

+ * [[hedgehop]]

+ * [[hedgepig]]

+ * [[hedgerow]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[haw]]

+ * [[hawthorn]]

+ * [[haggard]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}