Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HOOP, n. [D. hoep, hoepel.]

1. A band of wood or metal used to confine the staves of casks, tubs, &c. or for other similar purposes. Wooden hoops are usually made by splitting an oak or hickory sapling into two parts; but sometimes they are made of thin splints and of other species of wood.
2. A piece of whalebone in the form of a circle or ellipsis; used formerly by females to extend their petticoats; a farthingale. Swift.
3. Something resembling a hoop; a ring; any thing circular. Addison.