Hose

How to spell hose

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce hose

What does hose mean?

1. nounA flexible tube used to carry water or another liquid from one place to another.
2. verbTo wash, spray, or drench something using a flexible water tube.
3. nounA close-fitting garment covering the legs and feet, such as stockings or tights.

Hose in a sentence

• noun

  He uncoiled the garden hose to water the flower beds.

• verb

  Every evening the staff hose the muddy paths clean.

• noun

  The actor wore a velvet doublet and matching hose for the period play.

• noun

  The firefighters dragged a heavy hose across the yard.

• verb

  Workers hose the dusty machinery before the inspection.

• noun

  The costume shop stocked silk hose for the renaissance scene.

Where does hose come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is an old native word that goes back to the Old English hosa, which meant a covering for the leg, something close to a stocking or legging. It belongs to a wider Germanic family: modern German still has Hose for 'trousers' and Dutch has hoos, all descended from a common ancestor meaning a wrapping or sheath. For centuries in English the word referred only to clothing for the legs, and that is why old tailors and pageant costumes still speak of 'doublet and hose'. The familiar modern sense of a flexible tube for carrying water arrived later and was reinforced by the Dutch use of hoos for a water pipe, the idea being a long hollow covering much like a stocking. Because the spelling kept its silent final 'e' and the single 's' that sounds like a 'z', writers sometimes second-guess it, but it has stayed remarkably steady since Anglo-Saxon times.

How the word is built

• hose (a single Germanic root meaning a covering or tube; no prefix or suffix)