Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a safe place for hiding, especially from the law.
verb (used with object), hid, hid·den or hid, hid·ing.
- to conceal from sight; prevent from being seen or discovered: Where did she hide her jewels?
- to obstruct the view of; cover up: The sun was hidden by the clouds.
- to conceal from knowledge or exposure; keep secret: to hide one’s feelings.
verb (used without object), hid, hid·den or hid, hid·ing.
- to conceal oneself; lie concealed: He hid in the closet.
noun
- British. a place of concealment for hunting or observing wildlife; hunting blind.
Verb Phrases
- hide out, to go into or remain in hiding: After breaking out of jail, he hid out in a deserted farmhouse.
verb hides, hiding, hid (hɪd), hidden (ˈhɪdən) or hid
- to put or keep (oneself or an object) in a secret place; conceal (oneself or an object) from view or discoveryto hide a pencil; to hide from the police
- (tr) to conceal or obscurethe clouds hid the sun
- (tr) to keep secret
- (tr) to turn (one’s head, eyes, etc) away
noun
- British a place of concealment, usually disguised to appear as part of the natural environment, used by hunters, birdwatchers, etcUS and Canadian equivalent: blind
noun
- the skin of an animal, esp the tough thick skin of a large mammal, either tanned or raw
- informal the human skin
- Australian and NZ informal impudence
verb hides, hiding or hided
- (tr) informal to flog
noun
- an obsolete Brit unit of land measure, varying in magnitude from about 60 to 120 acres
noun
- a hiding place, esp a remote place used by outlaws, etc; hideaway
verb hide out (intr)
- to remain deliberately concealed, esp for a prolonged period of time
also hide-out, “a hiding place,” 1885, American English, from hide (v.) + out. The phrase hide out “conceal (oneself) from the authorities” is attested from 1870, American English (in reference to Northern draft dodgers in the Civil War).
Old English hydan “to hide, conceal; preserve; hide oneself; bury a corpse,” from West Germanic *hudjan (cf. Middle Dutch, Middle Low German huden), from PIE *keudh- (cf. Greek keuthein “to hide, conceal”), from root *(s)keu- “to cover, conceal” (see hide (n.1)). Hide and seek (by 1670s), children’s game, replaced earlier all hid (1580s).
“skin of a large animal,” Old English hyd “hide, skin,” from Proto-Germanic *hudiz (cf. Old Norse huð, Old Frisian hed, Middle Dutch huut, Dutch huid, Old High German hut, German Haut “skin”), related to Old English verb hydan “to hide,” the common notion being of “covering.”
All of this is from PIE root *(s)keu- “to cover, conceal” (cf. Sanskrit kostha “enclosing wall,” skunati “covers;” Armenian ciw “roof;” Latin cutis “skin,” scutum “shield,” ob-scurus “dark;” Greek kytos “a hollow, vessel,” keutho “to cover, to hide,” skynia “eyebrows;” Russian kishka “gut,” literally “sheath;” Lithuanian kiautas “husk,” kutis “stall;” Old Norse sky “cloud;” Old English sceo “cloud;” Middle High German hode “scrotum;” Old High German scura, German Scheuer “barn;” Welsh cuddio “to hide”).
The alliterative pairing of hide and hair (often negative, hide nor hair) was in Middle English (early 15c.), but earlier and more common was hide ne hewe, literally “skin and complexion (‘hue’)” (c.1200).
“measure of land” (obsolete), Old English hid “hide of land,” earlier higid, from hiw- “family” (cf. hiwan “household,” hiwo “a husband, master of a household”), from Proto-Germanic *hiwido-, from PIE *keiwo- (cf. Latin civis “citizen”), from root *kei- “to lie; bed, couch; beloved, dear” (see cemetery, and cf. city).
The notion was of “amount of land needed to feed one free family and dependents,” usually 100 or 120 acres, but the amount could be as little as 60, depending on the quality of the land. Often also defined as “as much land as could be tilled by one plow in a year.” Translated in Latin as familia.
Go into or stay in hiding, especially from the authorities. For example, The cattle thieves hid out in the canyon, or He decided to hide out from the press. [Late 1800s]
In addition to the idioms beginning with hide
- hide and seek
- hide nor hair, neither
- hide one’s face
- hide one’s head in the sand
- hide one’s light under a bushel
- hide out
also see:
- cover one’s ass (hide)
- tan one’s hide