Hough

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

HOUGH . The hough (modern spelling ‘hock’) of a quadruped is the joint between the knee and the fetlock in the hind leg; in man the back of the knee joint, called the ham. To ‘hough’ is to cut the tendon of the hough, to hamstring. The subst. occurs in 2Es 15:36 ‘the camel’s hough’ (AVm [Note: Authorized Version margin.] ‘pastern or litter’). The verb is found in   Joshua 11:6;   Joshua 11:9 ,   2 Samuel 8:4 ,   1 Chronicles 18:4 always of houghing horses. Tindale translates   Genesis 49:6 ‘In their selfe-will they houghed an oxe,’ which is retained in AVm [Note: Authorized Version margin.] , and inserted into the text of RV [Note: Revised Version.] in place of ‘they digged down a wall.’

Webster's Dictionary

 (1):  (n.) The joint in the hind limb of quadrupeds between the leg and shank, or tibia and tarsus, and corresponding to the ankle in man.

 (2):  (n.) Same as Hock, a joint.

 (3):  (n.) The popliteal space; the ham.

 (4):  (v. t.) Same as Hock, to hamstring.

 (5):  (n.) An adz; a hoe.

 (6):  (v. t.) To cut with a hoe.

 (7):  (n.) A piece cut by butchers, esp. in pork, from either the front or hind leg, just above the foot.

King James Dictionary

HOUGH, n. hok.

1. The lower part of the thigh the ham the joint of the hind leg of a beast that connects the thigh with the leg. 2. An adz a hoe. Not in use.

HOUGH, hok. To hamstring to disable by cutting the sinews of the ham.

1. To cut with a hoe.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Joshua 11:6 11:9 2 Samuel 8:4 1 Chronicles 18:4Hamstring

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

(Pronounced hock,) to hamstring, or cut the cords of the hind legs. The horse taken by David from the Syrians were thus disabled,  Joshua 11:6,9;  2 Samuel 8:4 .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Joshua 11:6 2 Samuel 8:4 1 Chronicles 18:4

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( ִֵקּר,  akker', Piel of  עָקִר, to  extirpatee), a method employed by the ancient Israelites to render useless the captured horses of an enemy ( Joshua 11:6; comp.  Genesis 49:6), as they were not allowed or able to use that animal (so also  2 Samuel 8:4;  1 Chronicles 18:4). It consisted in  hamstringing, i.e. severing "the tendon Achilles" of the hinder legs (Sept.  νευροκοπεῖν; compare   ‘ akar; Syr. the same, Barhebr. p. 220). The practice is still common in Arab warfare (Rosenm ü ller,  Instituturis Moham. circa bellum,  § 17). (See Horse).