hawk/hock

[Baker, John]

        You're confusing two completely different words.  "Hawk," in "Muncie Hawk Shop," is either a misuse of "hock" or, far more likely, from the verb "to hawk," meaning to peddle goods aggressively, a back-formation from Middle English "hauker," a hawker or peddler.  "Hawk," in the sense of a bird of prey, derives from Old English "heafoc," a hawk or falcon.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis R. Preston [mailto:preston at PILOT.MSU.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 6:25 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: hawk/hock


Is there a merger of the words anywhere (i.e., people who confuse
"pawning" with "bird of prey"?

dInIs