howf

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots howf (noun, verb).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /haʊf/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /hʌuf/
• Rhymes: -aʊf

Noun

howf (plural howfs) (Scotland, archaic)

1. A frequent meeting place; a haunt; often specifically, a drinking-house or tavern.
   • 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in The Pirate. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 60:

     [A]s this Scotsman's howf lies right under your lee, why, take any port in a storm.

   • 1972, George Mackay Brown, Greenvoe, Polygon, published 2019, page 164:

     ‘He stayed at home at nights and devoted himself to his books. He even missed a few week-ends in the High Street howffs.’

2. A rudimentary shelter, especially one used by a mountaineer; a hut.

Alternative forms

• howff

Verb

howf (third-person singular simple present howfs, present participle howfing, simple past and past participle howfed)

1. (intransitive, Scotland, archaic) To frequent or resort to a place; to haunt.

Alternative forms

• howff

Further reading

• “howff, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2024.
• “howff, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2024.
• “howf, n. and v.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

• OFWH

Scots

Alternative forms

• hauf, houf, houff, houffe, hooff, howff

Etymology

The noun is derived from Old Scots howf (“burial ground; timber yard”), probably a borrowing from Middle Dutch hof (“court; enclosed space”).

Sense 4 (“cemetery or churchyard”) refers to The Howff, a burial ground in Dundee on the land of the former Greyfriars Monastery.

The verb is derived from the noun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hʌuf/

Noun

howf (plural howfs)

1. an open space which is enclosed
2. a frequent meeting place; a haunt (sometimes one regarded as not respectable); specifically, a public house
   • 1842, Walter Scott, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     Mysell being in the public line, I look for howfs I kenn'd long syne, whar gentles used to drink gude wine

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. a rudimentary shelter, especially one used by a mountaineer; a hut
5. (Dundee) a cemetery or churchyard; especially, a private burial ground

Descendants

• → English: howf

Verb

howf (third-person singular simple present howfs, present participle howfin, simple past howft, past participle howft) (intransitive)

1. to frequent or resort to a place; to haunt
2. to hang around; to linger, to loiter
3. to take refuge or shelter
4. Followed by up: to bury