hackney

UK: /ˈhækni/ US: (hak′nē)

Inflections of 'hackney' (n): npl: hackneys

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

hack•ney  (hak′nē), n., pl. -neys, adj., v. 
n. 

1. Transport Also called hackney coach. a carriage or coach for hire;
   cab.
2. Dog and Cat Breeds a trotting horse used for drawing a light carriage or the like.
3. Dog and Cat Breeds a horse used for ordinary riding or driving.
4. Dog and Cat Breeds (cap.) one of an English breed of horses having a high-stepping gait.

adj. 

5. let out, employed, or done for hire.

v.t. 

6. to make trite, common, or stale by frequent use.
7. to use as a hackney.

• Middle English hakeney, special use of placename Hackney, Middlesex, England 1300–50

hack′ney•ism, n. 

Hack•ney  (hak′nē), n. 

1. Place Names a borough of Greater London, England. 206,200.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

hackney / ˈhæknɪ/ noun

1. a compact breed of harness horse with a high-stepping trot
2. a coach or carriage that is for hire
3. a popular term for hack21

verb

1. (tr; usually passive) to make commonplace and banal by too frequent use

Etymology: 14th Century: probably after Hackney, where horses were formerly raised; sense 4 meaning derives from the allusion to a weakened hired horse

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Hackney / ˈhæknɪ/ noun

1. a borough of NE Greater London: formed in 1965 from the former boroughs of Shoreditch, Stoke Newington, and Hackney; nearby are Hackney Marshes, the largest recreation ground in London. Pop: 208 400 (2003 est). Area: 19 sq km (8 sq miles)