hamstring
pronunciation
How to pronounce hamstring in British English:
UK [ˈhæmstrɪŋ]
How to pronounce hamstring in American English:
US [ˈhæmˌstrɪŋ]
-
- Noun:
- one of the tendons at the back of the knee
-
- Verb:
- make ineffective or powerless
- cripple by cutting the hamstring
Word Origin
- hamstring (v.)
- 1640s, "to disable, render useless," a figurative verbal extension from hamstring (n.) "tendon at the back of the knee." Cutting this would render a person or animal lame. Literal sense of the verb is attested from 1670s. Since it is a verb from a noun-noun compound, hamstrung as a past participle is technically incorrect. [I]n hamstring, -string is not the verb string; we do not string the ham, but do something to the tendon called the hamstring; the verb, that is, is made not from the two words ham & string, but from the noun hamstring. It must therefore make hamstringed. [Fowler]
- hamstring (n.)
- "tendon at the back of the knee," 1560s, from ham "bend of the knee" (see ham (n.1)) + string (n.).
Example
- 1. He pulled a hamstring in a rugby match at school .
- 2. Cripple by cutting the hamstring .
- 3. Writing is a muscle . Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep , and it needs to be exercised to get stronger .
- 4. The exercise also strengthens the abdominal muscles , and , unlike traditional push-ups , incorporates a spine and hamstring stretch .
- 5. Slowly bring your heel towards your bottom and return it to the floor again , concentrating on using the hamstring when completing the movement .