hoof

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has a plural from hooves (more usual) or hoofs.

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verb

1. To move rhythmically to music, using patterns of steps or gestures: dance, foot, step. Idioms: cut a rug, foot it, trip the light fantastic. See repetition, work/play.
2. To go on foot: ambulate, foot, pace, step, tread, walk. Idioms: foot it. See move/halt.

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IN BRIEF: The horny covering on the feet of cows, horses, deer or pigs.

While I see many hoof marks going in, I see none coming out. — Aesop (620-560 BC)

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verb intr.
verb intr., orig US

To dance; also with it. (1925 —) .
A. Gilbert A pretty nifty dancer himself in his young days and still able to hoof it quite neatly (1958). Hence hoofer, noun A (professional) dancer. (1923 —) .
Sunday Express She was impressed by one of the male dancers.... The one-time hoofer ended up by working for her for 40 years (1973).

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The horny covering of the digit of ungulates. Consists of a wall, a sole and in the horse reflections of the wall which enclose a triangular frog. The hoof is attached to the underlying soft tissues by lamellae which interdigitate with similar lamellae in the soft tissues. The wall is composed of many minute horn tubes united by intertubular horn produced by a germinative layer at the coronary band where the skin and horn join. A thin, narrow band of soft, very light-colored horn called periople forms a flexible union between wall and skin. The wall is that part of the hoof extending from the coronet to the sole. It grows from the coronet and in horses takes about 1 year to reach the sole at the toe and some months fewer at the heel. The wall and the sole join at a visible band called the white line though this is often yellowish. These various parts of the hoof are described in more detail under their individual headings. See also cleat.

• h. abscess — results usually from a nailprick of the sole or from a cracked sole. The cavity of the abscess cannot be large because of the rigid nature of the tissues. Spread from the original site is via the potential space between the sensitive laminae and the hoof and eventually surfaces at the coronet with pus discharging from a sinus there. Causes severe lameness, and tetanus is a common accompaniment.
• h. avulsion — in cattle and horses it is usually the result of trauma and carries a very poor prognosis.
• h. block — see digital nerve block.
• h. congenital absence — with all four limbs affected, recorded in calves.
• h. cutters — pincer-like instruments with one blade sharp and chisel-pointed, the other square and acting as a block for the other to cut against. The good implements have a double-scissor action and detachable blades.
• h. erosion — occurs in association with interdigital dermatitis in cattle and contributes to lameness.
• h. lameness — lameness due to pain in the hoof; detected by tapping with a hammer or pinching with a hoof tester.
• h. oil — a mixture of 20 parts neat's-foot oil and 1 part Stockholm tar; used to prevent a horse's hooves from becoming dry and brittle.
• h. overgrowth — in old animals kept on very soft pasture or bedding; the hoof wall elongates and will eventually curl under so that the patient is walking on hoof wall instead of sole.
• h. pick — a pointed appliance in various shapes used to pick dirt and stones out of the grooves in the sole of a horse's hoof.
• h. slough — the wall and sole are detached from the sensitive laminae and the coronet and falls off. When the detachment is partial, the hoof is retained but is not viable and the patient gives the appearance of wearing slippers.
• h. tester — shaped like a pair of large pincers. One of the blades is placed on apparently normal hoof and the other on the part to be tested. If there is a flinch response when the handles are squeezed this is taken as an indication of pain at one of the pressure sites.
• h. ulcer — see pododermatitis circumscripta.
• worn h. — excessive wear, e.g. that which occurs in pastured cows forced to walk twice daily along races floored with recently paved non-slip concrete; may expose sensitive tissue, causing herd level lameness in all four limbs.

For a list of words related to hoof, see:

• Limbs and Extremities - hoof: Slang. foot
• Animal Types and Parts - hoof: hard, horny foot of ungulate mammals
• Gaits - hoof: Slang. walk; move on one’s feet

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See words rhyming with "hoof."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Hoof.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - hov, fod
v. tr. - sparke
v. intr. - gå, traske, danse

idioms:

• hoof it    gå til fods, traske, danse
• on the hoof    levende, ikke slagtet

Nederlands (Dutch)
hoef, voet, poot, stuk vee, lopen, dansen, trappen

Français (French)
n. - sabot
v. tr. - marcher
v. intr. - danser, faire des claquettes

idioms:

• hoof it    aller à pinces/à pied
• on the hoof    improvisation, improviser

Deutsch (German)
n. - Huf, (ugs.) Fuß
v. - treten

idioms:

• hoof it    tippeln
• on the hoof    lebend

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ζωολ.) οπλή, πέλμα, νύχι ζώου
v. - κλωτσώ, λακτίζω

idioms:

• hoof it    (καθομ.) πάω ποδαράτα, το κόβω με τα πόδια
• on the hoof    (για βοοειδή κτλ) ζωντανό(ς), άσφαχτο(ς)

Italiano (Italian)
zoccolo

idioms:

• hoof it    andare a piedi
• on the hoof    ancora vivo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - casco (m), pata (f), pé humano (m) (gír.)
v. - dar coices, dançar (gír.)

idioms:

• hoof it    caminhar (coloq.)
• on the hoof    em pé (vivo)

Русский (Russian)
копыто, ножища

idioms:

• hoof it    вон!, убирайся
• on the hoof    живьем

Español (Spanish)
n. - casco, pezuña, pata
v. tr. - caminar, andar a pie
v. intr. - casco, pezuña, pata, bailar, zapatear

idioms:

• hoof it    ir andando, ir en el coche de San Fernando
• on the hoof    ganado en pie

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - hov, fot (skämts.)
v. - gå, traska, dansa, sparka, avskeda

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
蹄, 人的脚, 用蹄踢, 步行, 走, 踏, 踢

idioms:

• hoof it    步行, 逃走, 跳舞
• on the hoof    活着, 未屠宰

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 蹄, 人的腳
v. tr. - 用蹄踢, 步行
v. intr. - 走, 踏, 踢

idioms:

• hoof it    步行, 逃走, 跳舞
• on the hoof    活著, 未屠宰

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 발굽
v. tr. - 발굽으로 차다, 좇아내다
v. intr. - 걷다, 춤추다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 蹄, 足, 人間の足

idioms:

• hoof it    てくる, 踊る
• on the hoof    生きて

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حافر الفرس, , ظلف البقر, خف الجمل, حيوان من ذوات الحافر ألخ (فعل) يمشي, يرفس, يدوس, , يرقص‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פרסה‬
v. tr. - ‮היכה בפרסה, בעט‬
v. intr. - ‮רקד (עגה)‬

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