howf

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots howf (noun, verb).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /haʊf/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /hʌuf/
• Rhymes: -aʊf

Noun

howf (plural howfs) (Scotland, archaic)

1. A frequent meeting place; a haunt; often specifically, a drinking-house or tavern.
   • 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in The Pirate. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 60:

     [A]s this Scotsman's howf lies right under your lee, why, take any port in a storm.

   • 1972, George Mackay Brown, Greenvoe, Polygon, published 2019, page 164:

     ‘He stayed at home at nights and devoted himself to his books. He even missed a few week-ends in the High Street howffs.’

2. A rudimentary shelter, especially one used by a mountaineer; a hut.

Alternative forms

• howff

Verb

howf (third-person singular simple present howfs, present participle howfing, simple past and past participle howfed)

1. (intransitive, Scotland, archaic) To frequent or resort to a place; to haunt.

Alternative forms

• howff

Related terms

• hovel

Further reading

• “howff, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2024.
• “howff, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2024.
• “howf, n. and v.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

• OFWH