Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • interjection Used to attract attention.
  • noun A small sloop-rigged coasting ship.
  • noun A heavy barge used for freight.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To incite; chase or drive on or away.
  • noun A small vessel, usually sloop-rigged, employed in conveying passengers and goods from port to port on the coast, or in doing heavy work in a road or bay, such as carrying provisions, weighing anchors, etc.
  • Ho! hello! an exclamation used to call attention. Also hoigh.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Naut.) A small coaster vessel, usually sloop-rigged, used in conveying passengers and goods from place to place, or as a tender to larger vessels in port.
  • interjection Ho! Halloe! Stop!

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small coaster vessel, usually sloop-rigged, used in conveying passengers and goods, or as a tender to larger vessels in port.
  • interjection ho!, hallo!, stop!
  • verb Geordie To throw.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a flatbottom boat for carrying heavy loads (especially on canals)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English hoie, from Middle Dutch hoey, hoede.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From German Heu or Dutch hui.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Dutch hui, compare ahoy.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word hoy.

Examples

  • But, a simple, "Por favor, plancha esta ropa hoy" is clear and courteous, too.

    favors, requests and ORDERS 2002

  • Most people come here for the Crispy Pork & Basil Rice and Thai Boat noodles, but Ord prides itself most on these noodles called hoy khaa.

    Archive 2009-08-01 e d b m 2009

  • Most people come here for the Crispy Pork & Basil Rice and Thai Boat noodles, but Ord prides itself most on these noodles called hoy khaa.

    Ord Noodles and Thaitown Noodles, Hollywood - Mini Bowls of Joy e d b m 2009

  • Served in a bamboo boat, this Thai-style omelette, called "hoy tod," is drizzled with a sweet-and-sour sauce.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Anita Li 2011

  • When the "hoy," who was sent by Wilson with me, returned and repeated to him my words, vengeance was sworn against me, and the hounds were turned loose for immediate chase.

    Biography of a Slave Being the Experiences of Rev. Charles Thompson Charles Thompson

  • Now if I say to you pienso que hoy el cielo está muy azul, then you have to go through a series of translations not only for the word, but also the phrase, and verb rules, then your mind has to recall it's pictures during and after the translation.

    Developing An Ear for Spanish 2009

  • Now if I say to you pienso que hoy el cielo está muy azul, then you have to go through a series of translations not only for the word, but also the phrase, and verb rules, then your mind has to recall it's pictures during and after the translation.

    Developing An Ear for Spanish 2009

  • - Cientos de haitianos se aglomeraron hoy en el portón que separa a su país de la República Dominicana en la provincia de Dajabón, intentado cruzar a este territorio, temerosos y confusos por el terremoto que afectó ayer a esa nación y que según cifras provocó cientos de miles de muertos.

    Think Progress » Fox News: Guantanamo Bay may open its doors to Haitian refugees. 2010

  • When I ordered, the man replied, "Disculpe, no tenemos dorado hoy."

    Taco vs. Taquito 2009

  • “En cumplimiento a las disposiciones electorales Mexicanas, este canal permanecera bloqueado hasta las 8 de la noche del dia de hoy.”

    Election day 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "About noon, a hoy, intently watched by the few other fore-and-aft rigged vessels in the Downs, got under way."

    --P. O'Brian, The Commodore, 130

    March 17, 2008

  • Did sailors shout out things like, 'A hoy ahoy!'?

    September 22, 2008

  • Only in La Jolla.

    September 22, 2008

  •      Can you trace shuttles thrown

    like drops from a fountain

    . . .

    shuttles like random dust desert whirlwinds hoy at their tormenting sun?

    —Basil Bunting, Briggflatts

    In the endnotes Bunting glosses this "toss, hurl". Immediately before these lines comes the word 'skerry', which he glosses "O, come on, you know that one."

    March 8, 2009

  • "Off and on I lived on the coast of America, down close to New Orleans, where we'd take small cargo ships and the like. I sailed aboard a small hoy, so we couldn't take on too large or well defended a ship..."-Dead as a Doornail, by Charlaine Harris

    May 19, 2011