hoist

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Alteration of hoise, apparently based on the past tense and participle. Confer Danish hisse, German hissen, Italian issare (loaned from a Germanic source).

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Verb

hoist (third-person singular simple present hoists, present participle hoisting, simple past and past participle hoisted or hoist)

  1. (transitive) To raise; to lift; to elevate; especially, to raise or lift to a desired elevation, by means of tackle or pulley, as a sail, a flag, a heavy package or weight.
    • 1719: Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
      ...but this last was so heavy, I could not hoist it up to get it over the ship's side.
    • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
      Between us, with much trouble, we managed to hoist him upstairs, and laid him on his bed, where his head fell back on the pillow, as if he were almost fainting.
    • 2011 October 23, Tom Fordyce, “2011 Rugby World Cup final: New Zealand 8-7 France”, BBC Sport:
      And when skipper Richie McCaw hoisted the Webb Ellis Trophy high into the night, a quarter of a century of hurt was blown away in an explosion of fireworks and cheering.
  2. (transitive, historical) To lift someone up to be flogged.
  3. (intransitive) To be lifted up.

[edit] Usage notes

  • "Hoisted" is about fifteen times more common than "hoist" in US usage as past and past participle.

[edit] Quotations

[edit] Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

[edit] Noun

hoist (plural hoists)

  1. A hoisting device, such as pulley or crane.
  2. The perpendicular height of a flag, as opposed to the fly, or horizontal length, when flying from a staff.
  3. The vertical edge of a flag which is next to the staff.
  4. The height of a fore-and-aft sail, next the mast or stay.

[edit] Translations

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