2 words pinned here
Hackney
37.1742°N -97.0311°W · Q5637337
2 English words in this atlas trace back to Hackney. It sits in United States.
hackneynoun · 14th century
ProbableThe hired cab, and the verb hack, point to a London parish.
Hackney is usually traced to the London district, where horses were pastured. Hackneyed, meaning worn out by overuse, comes from the same hired horse.
Named from the placeRead →
hackney writernoun · 17th century
DisputedThe hack in hack writer started out as a horse from a London parish.
Hackney, then pasture on the edge of London, is the usual source given for hackney meaning a horse let out for hire, which passed to anything worn out in someone else's service and shortened to hack. A rival account derives the word from Old French haquenee, and the two explanations have never been cleanly separated.
Origin is disputedRead →