hind
hind Lexical Profile
hind Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Situated at the back or rear, especially referring to the back limbs or body parts of a four-legged animal.
"The startled bear rose up on its hind legs to get a better view of the surroundings."
• noun
An adult female deer, especially a red deer (Cervus elaphus) in and after its third year.
"The graceful hind bounded effortlessly across the misty forest clearing."
Any of several spotted marine groupers of the family Serranidae (especially genus Epinephelus) native to warm and tropical waters of the western Atlantic and Caribbean.
"The diver spotted a brightly speckled red hind sheltering near the coral reef."
British A skilled farm servant, bailiff, or agricultural laborer, especially in Scotland and northern England (now chiefly archaic or historical).
"In nineteenth-century rural Northumberland, a married hind was typically provided with a small cottage on the estate."
Word Nuance & Usage
As an adjective, 'hind' is used exclusively in the attributive position (directly before a noun, as in 'hind legs') and primarily refers to the rear body parts of quadrupeds.
• Rhymes for hind
Word Origin & Etymology
The noun meaning a female deer comes from Old English 'hind', of Proto-Germanic origin. The adjective meaning 'situated at the back' represents a separate etymological line, likely back-formed in Middle English from 'hinder' and 'behind' (from Old English 'hindan', meaning 'from behind').