hose

views updated May 29 2018

hose / hōz/ • n. 1. a flexible tube conveying water, used esp. for watering plants and in firefighting.2. [treated as pl.] stockings, socks, and tights (esp. in commercial use): a chorus girl's fishnet hose. ∎ hist. breeches: Elizabethan doublet and hose.• v. [tr.] water, spray, or drench with a hose: he was hosing down the driveway.ORIGIN: Old English hosa, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hoos ‘stocking’ and German Hosen ‘trousers.’ Originally singular, the term denoted a covering for the leg, sometimes including the foot but sometimes reaching only as far as the ankle.

hose

views updated Jun 11 2018

hose
A. article of clothing for the leg OE.;

B. flexible pipe for conveying liquid XV. Late OE. hosa, -e = OS., OHG., ON. hosa (Du. hoos stocking, water-hose, G. hose) :- Gmc. *χusan-, -ōn. Sense B is prob. from Du.
Hence hosier XV.