Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - hock

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English hoch, hough, from Old English hoh heel; akin to Old Norse hasin ~  Date: 1540  1.  a. the tarsal joint or region in the hind limb of a digitigrade quadruped (as the horse) corresponding to the human ankle but elevated and bending backward — see horse illustration  b. a joint of a fowl's leg that corresponds to the ~ of a quadruped  2. a small cut of meat from a front or hind leg just above the foot ham ~s  II. noun  Usage: often capitalized  Etymology: modification of German Hochheimer, from Hochheim, Germany  Date: circa 1625 chiefly British Rhine wine 1  III. transitive verb  Etymology: 4~  Date: 1878 pawn  • ~er noun  IV. noun  Etymology: Dutch hok pen, prison  Date: 1883  1.  a. pawn II,2 got his watch out of ~  b. debt 3 in ~ to the bank  2. prison