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Added 8 October 2026

hoist

/hɔɪst/ verb

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about hoist at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To raise; to lift; to elevate (especially, to raise or lift to a desired elevation, by means of tackle or pulley, said of a sail, a flag, a heavy package or weight).
To lift a trophy or similar prize into the air in celebration of a victory.
To lift someone up to be flogged.

noun

Any member of certain classes of devices that hoist things.
The act of hoisting; a lift.
Give me a hoist over that wall.
The triangular vertical position of a flag, as opposed to the flying state, or triangular vertical position of a sail, when flying from a mast.

Origin

Alteration of earlier hoise (“to hoist”), apparently based on the past tense forms, from Middle Dutch hisen (“to hoist”). Compare modern Dutch hijsen (“to hoist”), German hissen (“to hoist”), Danish hejse (“to hoist”). Compare also French hisser (“to hoist”), Galician isar (“to hoist”), Spanish izar (“to hoist”), Catalan hissar (“to hoist”), Italian issare (“to hoist”), Portuguese içar (“to hoist”), Sicilian jisari (“to hoist”), all borrowed from a Germanic source.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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