The joint in an animal's hind leg between the knee and the foot, or to pawn something for cash.
From Old English 'hoh,' related to German 'Hacke,' referring to the heel or hock joint. The pawning meaning comes from the verb 'hock' meaning to lame or cripple—when you 'hock' something, you're putting it in a disadvantaged position.
A horse's hock is one of the most engineered joints in nature—it bends at an extreme angle and absorbs massive force when galloping, yet it's remarkably injury-prone because it's doing such difficult biomechanical work. This is why racehorses retiring young often have 'bad hocks!'
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