from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Hole \Hole\ (h[=o]l), n. [OE. hol, hole, AS. hol, hole, cavern,
from hol, a., hollow; akin to D. hol, OHG. hol, G. hohl, Dan.
huul hollow, hul hole, Sw. h[*a]l, Icel. hola; prob. from the
root of AS. helan to conceal. See {Hele}, {Hell}, and cf.
{Hold} of a ship.]
1. A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; an opening
in or through a solid body, a fabric, etc.; a perforation;
a rent; a fissure.
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The holes where eyes should be. --Shak.
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The blind walls
Were full of chinks and holes. --Tennyson.
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The priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the
lid. --2 Kings xii.
9.
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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 or place; a mean habitation.
--Dryden.
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The foxes have holes, . . . but the Son of man hath
not where to lay his head. --Luke ix. 58.
3. (Games)
(a) A small cavity used in some games, usually one into
which a marble or ball is to be played or driven;
hence, a score made by playing a marble or ball into
such a hole, as in golf.
(b) (Fives) At Eton College, England, that part of the
floor of the court between the step and the pepperbox.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Syn: Hollow; concavity; aperture; rent; fissure; crevice;
orifice; interstice; perforation; excavation; pit; cave;
den; cell.
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{Hole and corner}, clandestine, underhand. [Colloq.] "The
wretched trickery of hole and corner buffery." --Dickens.
{Hole board} (Fancy Weaving), a board having holes through
which cords pass which lift certain warp threads; --
called also {compass board}.
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