hoist
pronunciation
How to pronounce hoist in British English:
UK [hɔɪst]
How to pronounce hoist in American English:
US [hɔɪst]
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- Noun:
- lifting device for raising heavy or cumbersome objects
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- Verb:
- raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
- move from one place to another by lifting
- raise
Word Origin
- hoist
- hoist: [16] The history of hoist cannot be traced back very far. It is an alteration of a now defunct hoise (probably due to the mistaking of the past form hoised for a present form), which itself was an alteration of an earlier heise. This probably came from, or at least was related to, Dutch hijsen or Low German hissen ‘raise’. Heist ‘robbery, hold-up’ [20], which originated in the USA, is a variant of hoist, and perhaps represents a survival of heise.=> heist
- hoist (v.)
- 1540s, "to raise," earlier hoise (c. 1500), probably originally past tense of Middle English hysse (late 15c.), which is probably from Middle Dutch hyssen (Dutch hijsen) "to hoist," related to Low German hissen and Old Norse hissa upp "raise." A nautical word found in most European languages (French hisser, Italian issare, Spanish izar), but it is uncertain which had it first. Related: Hoisted; hoisting. In phrase hoist with one's own petard, it is the past participle. For 'tis the sport, to have the engineer Hoist with his own petar: and it shall go hard But I will delve one yard below their mines, And blow them at the moon: O 'tis most sweet, When in one line two crafts directly meet. ["Hamlet," Act III, Scene iv] Meaning "to lift and remove" was prevalent c. 1550-1750. As a noun, 1650s, from the verb.
Example
- 1. His nostrils hoist in distaste .
- 2. Smaller sails are lighter , easier to hoist and trim , and smaller to stow .
- 3. Its " quad-lift " cranes can hoist four 20-foot containers at once .
- 4. Choose the type of hoist required .
- 5. The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats .