Hole | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Hōle, n.

noun

n. [A-S. hol, hollow, hole, cavern; O. H. Ger. hol, N. H. Ger. holl, hollow, from A-S. & O. H. Ger. helan, to hele, conceal; D. hol, Dan. hul, hule, Sw. hål, Icel. hola, hole, cavern, allied to Gr. κοῖλος, hollow.] 1. A hollow place or cavity; a rent, fissure, crevice, pit, perforation, excavation, or the like. Jehoiada, the priest, took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it. 2 Kings xii. 9. 2. An excavation in the ground, made by an animal to live in, or a natural cavity inhabited by an animal; hence, a low, narrow, or dark lodging; a mean habitation. Dryden. Syn.—Hollow; concavity; aperture; interstice; perforation; excavation; pit; cave; den; cell.

Hōle, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. To go into a hole. B. Jonson.

Hōle, v. t.

verbtransitive

[A-S. holian.] 1. To cut, dig, or make a hole or holes in; as, to hole a post for the insertion of rails or bars. “With throwing of the holed stone, with hurling of their darts.” Chapman. 2. To drive into a hole, as an animal, or into a bag, as in billiards.

Hōle, a.

adjective

a. Whole. [Obs.] Spencer.