Why is hacking called hacking?!
- Thread starter Doeylicious
- Start date
old_woman
a VERY senior citizen
Hack is short for the word hackney, which word was first recorded around 1300–50; It appeared as the Middle English hakeney - ie a form of the placename Hackney, in Middlesex. This was, one must assume, a place associated with the hiring out of carts and drivers for personal transportation around the growing conurbation of London. Hence Hackney Cabs - which taxis are stlll officially known as today - and hackney ponies and horses, now of course a very specialised breed and no longer used for their original purpose!
The process of word change, assimilation and cultural changes resulted eventually in the 'hack' being first of all a horse let out for hire, but which was not a horse for a specific purpose such as a hunter, cart-horse etc, and then the word became a synonym for the sort of activity which was done on such a horse, and the abbreviated noun 'hack' became accepted as the verb 'to hack'.
No doubt a good dictionary of etymology would tell you much more, as would a good reference book about the development of carriages and horse-drawn transportation.
The process of word change, assimilation and cultural changes resulted eventually in the 'hack' being first of all a horse let out for hire, but which was not a horse for a specific purpose such as a hunter, cart-horse etc, and then the word became a synonym for the sort of activity which was done on such a horse, and the abbreviated noun 'hack' became accepted as the verb 'to hack'.
No doubt a good dictionary of etymology would tell you much more, as would a good reference book about the development of carriages and horse-drawn transportation.
Thats really interesting! Thank you for the reply 
I think I will do some more research as suggested, find it very interesting how the attitude towards and use of the horse has changed over the years.
I think I will do some more research as suggested, find it very interesting how the attitude towards and use of the horse has changed over the years.
old_woman
a VERY senior citizen
Until a couple of hundred years ago, a 'hack' was considered a low-class animal, little more than a drudge that was hired out for money - hence the term 'hack' for creative people, such as writers and artists, who do dull or mediocre work merely to earn a living. It is also used in the full form 'hackney' meaning made dull or tired by repeated use - for instance we may say that someone uses 'hackneyed phrases' when they write a boring article which we've read before. So you can imagine the state of these poor old hired cab-horses, can't you, that their name became synonymous with such tired, dull things.
I think that black cabs all round the UK operate under the conditions of what is still known as 'the Hackney Carriage Act'. If you looked closely into all the books of regulations, you might even find that a black cab driver is still compelled to carry a bucket and a nosebag ...
I think that black cabs all round the UK operate under the conditions of what is still known as 'the Hackney Carriage Act'. If you looked closely into all the books of regulations, you might even find that a black cab driver is still compelled to carry a bucket and a nosebag ...
I think that black cabs all round the UK operate under the conditions of what is still known as 'the Hackney Carriage Act'. If you looked closely into all the books of regulations, you might even find that a black cab driver is still compelled to carry a bucket and a nosebag ...
.... and must be able to fit a bale of hay in their boot !
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