hide

hide¹

—hidable, adj. —hidability, n. —hider, n.

/huyd/, v., hid, hidden or hid, hiding, n.

v.t.

1. to conceal from sight; prevent from being seen or discovered: Where did she hide her jewels?

2. to obstruct the view of; cover up: The sun was hidden by the clouds.

3. to conceal from knowledge or exposure; keep secret: to hide one's feelings.

v.i.

4. to conceal oneself; lie concealed: He hid in the closet.

5. hide out, to go into or remain in hiding: After breaking out of jail, he hid out in a deserted farmhouse.

n.

6. Brit. a place of concealment for hunting or observing wildlife; hunting blind.

[bef. 900; ME hiden, OE hydan; c. OFris huda, Gk keúthein to conceal]

Syn. 1. screen, mask, cloak, veil, shroud, disguise. HIDE, CONCEAL, SECRETE mean to put out of sight or in a secret place. HIDE is the general word: to hide one's money or purpose; A dog hides a bone. CONCEAL, somewhat more formal, is to cover from sight: A rock concealed them from view. SECRETE means to put away carefully, in order to keep secret: The spy secreted the important papers. 3. disguise, dissemble, suppress.

Ant. 1. reveal, display.

hide²

—hideless, adj.

/huyd/, n., v., hided, hiding.

n.

1. the pelt or skin of one of the larger animals (cow, horse, buffalo, etc.), raw or dressed.

2. Informal.

a. the skin of a human being: Get out of here or I'll tan your hide!

b. safety or welfare: He's only worried about his own hide.

3. Australia and New Zealand Informal. impertinence; impudence.

4. hide nor hair, a trace or evidence, as of something missing: They didn't find hide nor hair of the murder weapon. Also, hide or hair.

v.t.

5. Informal. to administer a beating to; thrash.

6. to protect (a rope, as a boltrope of a sail) with a covering of leather.

[bef. 900; ME; OE hyd; c. D huid, ON huth, Dan, Sw hud, OHG hut (G Haut), L cutis skin, CUTIS; see HIDE¹]

Syn. 1. See skin.

hide³

/huyd/, n. Old Eng. Law.

a unit of land measurement varying from 60 to 120 acres (24 to 49 hectares) or more, depending upon local usage.

[bef. 900; ME; OE hid(e), hig(i)d portion of land, family; akin to L civis citizen, Gk keîmai to lie, abide]

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▪ English land unit

      in early English history, the land necessary to support a free peasant family. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the hide commonly appeared as 120 acres (50 hectares) of arable land, but it probably represented a much smaller holding before 1066. It was the basis of the earliest taxation and the basis for mustering the primitive English militia, the fyrd. By the end of the Anglo-Saxon period, it had become unusual for a single peasant to hold an entire hide, most being restricted to a quarter hide, or yardland. Long after the Norman Conquest (1066), however, the hide was the unit according to which assessment for national taxation was expressed.

▪ animal skin

      the pelt taken from a cow, steer, or bull of the bovine species, from the pelt of a horse, or from the integument of some other large adult animal. The pelts of smaller animals are commonly called skins—namely, sheepskins, goatskins, calfskins, etc. For the preservation and tanning of hides, see leather.

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