hunker

English

WOTD – 10 March 2008

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhʌŋkə/
• IPA^(key): /ˈhʌŋkɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌŋkə(r)

Etymology 1

Originally Scottish. Origin unknown, but probably of Germanic origin, perhaps *hunk- or *huk-. Probable cognates include Old Norse húka, Dutch huiken, and German hocken.

Verb

hunker (third-person singular simple present hunkers, present participle hunkering, simple past and past participle hunkered)

1. (intransitive) To crouch or squat close to the ground
2. (intransitive) To apply oneself to a task

Synonyms

• (crouch or squat): crouch, squat

Derived terms

• hunkers
• hunker down

Translations

To crouch or squat close to the ground

• Bulgarian: приклякам (prikljakam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蹲下 (zh) (dūnxià)

• Finnish: kyykistyä (fi), kyykkiä
• French: s’accroupir (fr)
• German: hocken (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: しゃがむ (shagamu)
• Polish: kucać (pl)
• Portuguese: ficar de cócoras
• Russian: сиде́ть на ко́рточках impf (sidétʹ na kórtočkax)
• Spanish: encuclillarse (es), acurrucarse (es)

Etymology 2

Unknown

Noun

hunker (plural hunkers)

1. (dated) A political conservative.

See also

• hunkers

Anagrams

• Ruhnke

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʏŋkər

Verb

hunker

1. (deprecated template usage) first-person singular present indicative of hunkeren
2. (deprecated template usage) imperative of hunkeren

Anagrams

• hurken