Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HOE, n. [ho; G. haue; Sw. hacka, and this is the Dan. hakke, G. hacke, a mattock; Fr. houe. It seems this is from the root of hack and hew; Sax. heawian; D. houwen; G. hacken, Sw. hacka, Dan. hakker, to chop, to hack, to hew; Fr. houer.]

A farmer's instrument for cutting up weeds and loosening the earth in fields and gardens. It is in shape something like an adz, being a plate of iron, with an eye for a handle, which is set at an acute angle with the plate.