Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HOOK, n. [Sax. hoc; D. haak; G. haken; Sw. hake; Dan. hage; W. hwg; Heb. חכה; Ch. חכי. Class Cg, No. 22, 23, 24.]

1. A piece of iron or other metal bent into a curve for catching, holding and sustaining any thing; as a hook for catching fish; a tenter-hook; a chimney-hook; a pot-hook, &c.
2. A snare; a trap. Shak.
3. [W. hoc, a sythe.] A curving instrument for cutting grass or grain; a sickle; an instrument for cutting or lopping. Mortimer. Pope.
4. That part of a hinge which is fixed or inserted in a post Whence the phrase, to be off the hooks, to be unhinged, to be disturbed or disordered. Swift.
5. A forked timber in a ship, placed on the keel.
6. A catch; an advantage. [Vulgar.]
7. In husbandry, a field sown two years running. [Local.] Ainsworth. By hook and by crook, one way or other; by any means, direct or indirect. Dryden.