English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English haunche, hanche, from Old French hanche, hance, anche (compare French hanche, Italian anca), from a Germanic source, probably Frankish *ankijā, from Proto-Germanic *ankijǭ (joint; ankle), from Proto-Indo-European *ang- (joint; lith). Cognate with Old High German ancha, encha, einka (the leg; joint, bend) (compare Old High German anchila, enchila (ankle), German Hanke (haunch), West Frisian hancke (haunch). More at ankle.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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haunch (plural haunches)

  1. (anatomy) The area encompassing the upper thigh, hip and buttocks on one side of a human, primate, or quadruped animal, especially one that can sit on its hindquarters.
    • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. [] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: [] Benj[amin] Motte, [], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms):
      But I had no time to pursue these reflections; for the gray horse came to the door, and made me a sign to follow him into the third room where I saw a very comely mare, together with a colt and foal, sitting on their haunches upon mats of straw, not unartfully made, and perfectly neat and clean.
    • 1855 November 10, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “chapter III”, in The Song of Hiawatha, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC:
      And the rabbit from his path-way
      Leaped aside, and at a distance
      Sat erect upon his haunches.
    • 1916, Wilfred Owen, The Wrestlers:
      While Heracles, - the thews and cordage of his thighs
      Straitened and strained beyond the utmost stretch
      From quivering heel to haunch like sweating hawsers.
    • c. 1918, Carl Sandburg, Fog:
      The fog comes on little cat feet.
      It sits looking over harbor and city
      on silent haunches and then moves on.
    • 2018 July 15, Jonathan Jurejko, “Novak Djokovic Wins Fourth Wimbledon by Beating Kevin Anderson”, in BBC Sport[1], archived from the original on 14 February 2019:
      He [Novak Djokovic] dropped to his haunches just inside the baseline as Centre Court rose to acclaim the champion, hugging South African [Kevin] Anderson at the net before skipping over towards his box and celebrating wildly in front of his coaching team and wife Jelena.
  2. The loin and leg of a quadruped, especially when used as food.
  3. (architecture) A squat vertical support structure.
  4. (dialect) A jerked underhand throw.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

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haunch (third-person singular simple present haunches, present participle haunching, simple past and past participle haunched)

  1. (transitive, architecture) To provide with a haunch or supporting structure.
  2. (transitive, dialect) To throw with an underhand movement.
  NODES
eth 1
jung 3
jung 3
see 1