Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter H - Page 1

H () the eighth letter of the English alphabet, is classed among the consonants, and is formed with the mouth organs in the same position as that of the succeeding vowel. It is used with certain consonants to form digraphs representing sounds which are not found in the alphabet, as sh, th, /, as in shall, thing, /ine (for zh see /274); also, to modify the sounds of some other letters, as when placed after c and p, with the former of which it represents a compound sound like that of tsh, as in charm (written also tch as in catch), with the latter, the sound of f, as in phase, phantom. In some words, mostly derived or introduced from foreign languages, h following c and g indicates that those consonants have the hard sound before e, i, and y, as in chemistry, chiromancy, chyle, Ghent, Ghibelline, etc.; in some others, ch has the sound of sh, as in chicane. See Guide to Pronunciation, // 153, 179, 181-3, 237-8.

H () The seventh degree in the diatonic scale, being used by the Germans for B natural. See B.

Ha (interj.) An exclamation denoting surprise, joy, or grief. Both as uttered and as written, it expresses a great variety of emotions, determined by the tone or the context. When repeated, ha, ha, it is an expression of laughter, satisfaction, or triumph, sometimes of derisive laughter; or sometimes it is equivalent to "Well, it is so."

Haaf (n.) The deepsea fishing for cod, ling, and tusk, off the Shetland Isles.

Haak (n.) A sea fish. See Hake.

Haar (n.) A fog; esp., a fog or mist with a chill wind.

Habeas corpus () A writ having for its object to bring a party before a court or judge; especially, one to inquire into the cause of a person's imprisonment or detention by another, with the view to protect the right to personal liberty; also, one to bring a prisoner into court to testify in a pending trial.

Habendum (n.) That part of a deed which follows the part called the premises, and determines the extent of the interest or estate granted; -- so called because it begins with the word Habendum.

Haberdash (v. i.) To deal in small wares.

Haberdasher (n.) A dealer in small wares, as tapes, pins, needles, and thread; also, a hatter.

Haberdasher (n.) A dealer in drapery goods of various descriptions, as laces, silks, trimmings, etc.

Haberdashery (n.) The goods and wares sold by a haberdasher; also (Fig.), trifles.

Haberdine (n.) A cod salted and dried.

Habergeon (n.) Properly, a short hauberk, but often used loosely for the hauberk.

Habilatory (a.) Of or pertaining to clothing; wearing clothes.

Habile (a.) Fit; qualified; also, apt.

Habiliment (n.) (常用複數)服裝;裝飾;裝備 A garment; an article of clothing. -- Camden.

Habiliment (n.) pl. Dress, in general. -- Shak.

Habiliment (n.) A covering designed to be worn on a person's body [syn: clothing, article of clothing, vesture, wear, wearable, habiliment].

Habilimented (a.) 穿著衣服的 Clothed. Taylor (1630).

Habilimented (a.) Dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination; "the elegantly attired gentleman"; "neatly dressed workers"; "monks garbed in hooded robes"; "went about oddly garmented"; "professors robed in crimson"; "tuxedo-attired gentlemen"; "crimson-robed Harvard professors" [syn: appareled, attired, dressed, garbed, garmented, habilimented, robed].

Habilitate (a.) Qualified or entitled.

Habilitate (v. t.) To fit out; to equip; to qualify; to entitle.

Habilitation (n.) Equipment; qualification.

Hability (n.) Ability; aptitude.

Habit (n.) 習慣 [C] [U];(動植物的)習性 [C] [U];氣質 [S] 宗教服装 The usual condition or state of a person or thing, either natural or acquired, regarded as something had, possessed, and firmly retained; as, a religious habit; his habit is morose; elms have a spreading habit; esp., physical temperament or constitution; as, a full habit of body.

Habit (n.) The general appearance and manner of life of a living organism.

Habit (n.) Fixed or established custom; ordinary course of conduct; practice; usage; hence, prominently, the involuntary tendency or aptitude to perform certain actions which is acquired by their frequent repetition; as, habit is second nature; also, peculiar ways of acting; characteristic forms of behavior.

Habit (n.) Outward appearance; attire; dress; hence, a garment; esp., a closely fitting garment or dress worn by ladies; as, a riding habit.

Habit (n.) Hence: The distinctive clothing worn commonly by nuns or monks; as, in the late 1900's many orders of nuns discarded their habits and began to dress as ordinary lay women.

Habited (imp. & p. p.) of Habit.

Habiting (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Habit.

Habit (v. t.) 给…穿衣服; 打扮;To inhabit. [Obs.]

Habit (v. t.) To dress; to clothe; to array.

Habit (v. t.) To accustom; to habituate. [Obs.] -- Chapman.

Habit (n.) An established custom; "it was their habit to dine at 7 every evening" [syn: {habit}, {wont}].

Habit (n.) (Psychology) An automatic pattern of behavior in reaction to a specific situation; may be inherited or acquired through frequent repetition; "owls have nocturnal habits"; "she had a habit twirling the ends of her hair"; "long use had hardened him to it" [syn: {habit}, {use}].

Habit (n.) A distinctive attire worn by a member of a religious order.

Habit (n.) The general form or mode of growth (especially of a plant or crystal); "a shrub of spreading habit".

Habit (n.) Attire that is typically worn by a horseback rider (especially a woman's attire) [syn: {habit}, {riding habit}].

Habit (n.) Excessive use of drugs [syn: {substance abuse}, {drug abuse}, {habit}].

Habit (v.) Put a habit on.

Habitability (n.) Habitableness.

Habitable (a.) Capable of being inhabited; that may be inhabited or dwelt in; as, the habitable world.

Habitakle (v.) A dwelling place.

Habitan (n.) Same as Habitant, 2.

Habitance (n.) Dwelling; abode; residence.

Habiitancy (n.) Same as Inhabitancy.

Habitant (v. t.) An inhabitant; a dweller.

Habitant (v. t.) An inhabitant or resident; -- a name applied to and denoting farmers of French descent or origin in Canada, especially in the Province of Quebec; -- usually in plural.

Habitat (v. t.) The natural abode, locality or region of an animal or plant.

Habitat (v. t.) Place where anything is commonly found.

Habitation (n.) 【書】 居住 [U];住處,住所,住房 [C] The act of inhabiting; state of inhabiting or dwelling, or of being inhabited; occupancy. -- Denham.

Habitation (n.) Place of abode; settled dwelling; residence; house.

The Lord . . . blesseth the habitation of the just. -- Prov. iii. 33.

Habitation (n.) The native habitat or home of an animal or plant.

Habitation (n.) Housing that someone is living in; "he built a modest dwelling near the pond"; "they raise money to provide homes for the homeless" [syn: dwelling, home, domicile, abode, habitation, dwelling house].

Habitation (n.) The act of dwelling in or living permanently in a place (said of both animals and men); "he studied the creation and inhabitation and demise of the colony" [syn: inhabitancy, inhabitation, habitation].

Habitation (n.) God is the habitation of his people, who find rest and safety in him (Ps. 71:3; 91:9). Justice and judgment are the habitation of God's throne (Ps. 89:14, Heb. mekhon, "foundation"), because all his acts are founded on justice and judgment. (See Ps. 132:5, 13; Eph. 2:22, of Canaan, Jerusalem, and the temple as God's habitation.) God inhabits eternity (Isa. 57:15), i.e., dwells not only among men, but in eternity, where time is unknown; and "the praises of Israel" (Ps. 22:3), i.e., he dwells among those praises and is continually surrounded by them.

Habitation (n.) Civil law. It was the right of a person to live in the house of another without prejudice to the property.

Habitation (n.) It differed from a usufruct in this, that the usufructuary might have applied the house to any purpose, as, a store or manufactory; whereas the party having the right of habitation. could only use it for the residence of himself and family. 1 Bro. Civ. Law, 184 Domat. l. 1, t. 11, s. 2, n. 7.

Habitation (), Estates. A dwelling-house, a home-stall. 2 Bl. Com. 4; 4 Bl. Com. 220. Vide House.

Habitator (n.) A dweller; an inhabitant.

Habited (p. p. & a.) Clothed; arrayed; dressed; as, he was habited like a shepherd.

Habited (p. p. & a.) Fixed by habit; accustomed.

Habited (p. p. & a.) Inhabited.

Habitual (a.) 習慣的,習以為常的;慣常的 Formed or acquired by habit or use.

An habitual knowledge of certain rules and maxims. -- South.

Habitual (a.) According to habit; established by habit; customary; constant; as, the habiual practice of sin.

It is the distinguishing mark of habitual piety to be grateful for the most common and ordinary blessings. -- Buckminster.

Syn: Customary; accustomed; usual; common; wonted; ordinary; regular; familiar. -- Ha*bit"u*al*ly, adv. -- Ha*bit"u*al*ness, n.

Habitual (a.) Commonly used or practiced; usual; "his accustomed thoroughness"; "took his customary morning walk"; "his habitual comment"; "with her wonted candor" [syn: accustomed, customary, habitual, wonted(a)].

Habituated (imp. & p. p.) of Habituate.

Habituating (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Habituate.

Habituate (v. t.) 使習慣於 To make accustomed; to accustom; to familiarize.

Our English dogs, who were habituated to a colder clime. -- Sir K. Digby.

Men are first corrupted . . . and next they habituate themselves to their vicious practices. -- Tillotson.

Habituate (v. t.) To settle as an inhabitant.

Habituate (a.) Firmly established by custom; formed by habit; habitual. [R.] -- Hammond.

Habituate (v.) Take or consume (regularly or habitually); "She uses drugs rarely" [syn: use, habituate].

Habituate (v.) Make psychologically or physically used (to something); "She became habituated to the background music" [syn: habituate, accustom].

Habituation (n.) 使習慣;習慣;熟習 The act of habituating, or accustoming; the state of being habituated.

Habituation (n.) Being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs) [syn: addiction, dependence, dependance, dependency, habituation].

Habituation (n.) A general accommodation to unchanging environmental conditions.

Habitude (n.) 習慣;習俗;體質;本質,本性 Habitual attitude; usual or accustomed state with reference to something else; established or usual relations. -- South.

The same ideas having immutably the same habitudes one to another. -- Locke.

The verdict of the judges was biased by nothing else than their habitudes of thinking. -- Landor.

Habitude (n.) Habitual association, intercourse, or familiarity.

To write well, one must have frequent habitudes with the best company. -- Dryden.

Habitude (n.) Habit of body or of action. -- Shak.

It is impossible to gain an exact habitude without an infinite number of acts and perpetual practice. -- Dryden.

Habitude (n.) Habitual mode of behavior.

Habitue (n.) One who habitually frequents a place; as, an habitue of a theater.

Habitue (n.) A regular patron; "an habitue of the racetrack"; "a bum who is a Central Park fixture" [syn: regular, habitue, fixture].

Habiture (n.) Habitude. [Obs.]

Habitus (n.) [L.] (Zool.) Habitude; mode of life; general appearance.

Habitus (n.) Person's predisposition to be affected by something (as a disease); "the consumptive habitus".

Habitus (n.) Constitution of the human body [syn: physique, build, body-build, habitus].

Hable (a.) See Habile. [Obs.] -- Spenser.

Habnab (adv.) By chance. [Obs.]

Hachure (n.) (Fine Arts)(地圖上表示地面傾斜的)暈滃線;影線 A short line used in drawing and engraving, especially in shading and denoting different surfaces, as in map drawing. See {Hatching}.

Hachure (n.) Shading consisting of multiple crossing lines [syn: {hatch}, {hatching}, {crosshatch}, {hachure}].

Hacienda (n.) A large estate where work of any kind is done, as agriculture, manufacturing, mining, or raising of animals; a cultivated farm, with a good house, in distinction from a farming establishment with rude huts for herdsmen, etc.; -- a word used in Spanish-American regions.

Hacienda (n.) The main residence of a hacienda [1].

Hacienda (n.) A large estate in Spanish-speaking countries.

Hacienda (n.) The main house on a ranch or large estate.

Hack (v. t.) (Football) To kick the shins of (an opposing payer).

Hack (v. i.) To cough faintly and frequently, or in a short, broken manner; as, a hacking cough.

Hack (n.) A notch; a cut. -- Shak.

Hack (n.) An implement for cutting a notch; a large pick used in breaking stone.

Hack (n.) A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough. -- Dr. H. More.

Hack (n.) (Football) A kick on the shins , or a cut from a kick. -- T. Hughes.

Hack (n.) (Computers) A clever computer program or routine within a program to accomplish an objective in a non-obvious fashion.

Hack (n.) (Computers) A quick and inelegant, though functional solution to a programming problem.

Hack (n.) A taxicab. [informal]

Hack saw, A handsaw having a narrow blade stretched in an iron frame, for cutting metal.

Hack (n.) A frame or grating of various kinds; as, a frame for drying bricks, fish, or cheese; a rack for feeding cattle; a grating in a mill race, etc.

Hack (n.) Unburned brick or tile, stacked up for drying.

Hacked (imp. & p. p.) of Hack.

Hacking (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Hack.

Hack (v. t.) To cut irregulary, without skill or definite purpose; to notch; to mangle by repeated strokes of a cutting instrument; as, to hack a post.

My sword hacked like a handsaw. -- Shak.

Hack (v. t.) Fig.: To mangle in speaking. -- Shak.

Hack (v. t.) (Computers) To program (a computer) for pleasure or compulsively; especially, to try to defeat the security systems and gain unauthorized access to a computer.

Hack (v. t.) To bear, physically or emotionally; as, he left the job because he couldn't hack the pressure. [Colloq.]

Hack (a.) Hackneyed; hired; mercenary. -- Wakefield.

Hack writer, A hack; one who writes for hire. "A vulgar hack writer." -- Macaulay.

Hack (v. t.) To use as a hack; to let out for hire.

Hack (v. t.) To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.

The word "remarkable" has been so hacked of late. -- J. H. Newman.

Hack (n.) A horse, hackneyed or let out for common hire; also, a horse used in all kinds of work, or a saddle horse, as distinguished from hunting and carriage horses.

Hack (n.) A coach or carriage let for hire; a hackney coach; formerly, a coach with two seats inside facing each other; now, usually a taxicab.

On horse, on foot, in hacks and gilded chariots. -- Pope.

Hack (n.) Hence: The driver of a hack; a taxi driver; a hackman.

Hack (n.) A bookmaker who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge.

Here lies poor Ned Purdon, from misery freed, Who long was a bookseller's hack. -- Goldsmith.

Hack (n.) A procuress.

Hack (v. i.) To be exposed or offered or to common use for hire; to turn prostitute. -- Hanmer.

Hack (v. i.) To live the life of a drudge or hack. -- Goldsmith.

Hack (v. i.) To ride or drive as one does with a hack horse; to ride at an ordinary pace, or over the roads, as distinguished from riding across country or in military fashion.

Compare: Taxicab

Taxicab (n.) An automobile with a professional driver which can be hired to carry passengers; -- also called a taxi, and informally called a cab or a hack. The driver of a taxicab is referred to as a cab driver or cabbie, and sometimes as a chauffeur or hackie.

Note: Taxicabs may be engaged by a prior appointment made, e.g. by telephone, or they may cruise for passengers, i.e. they may drive in city streets and stop to pick up pasengers when they are signalled by a prospective passenger. The act of signalling a taxicab (usually by a wave of the arm) is often called to hail a cab or to flag down a cab.

Heck (n.) The bolt or latch of a door. [Prov. Eng.]

Heck (n.) A rack for cattle to feed at. [Prov. Eng.]

Heck (n.) A door, especially one partly of latticework; -- called

also heck door. [Prov. Eng.] -- Halliwell. 

Heck (n.) A latticework contrivance for catching fish.

Heck (n.) (Weaving) An apparatus for separating the threads of warps into sets, as they are wound upon the reel from the bobbins, in a warping machine. 

Heck (n.) A bend or winding of a stream. [Prov. Eng.]

Half heck, The lower half of a door.

Heck board, The loose board at the bottom or back of a cart.       

Heck box or Heck frame, That which carries the heck in warping.

Hack (n.) One who works hard at boring tasks [syn: hack, drudge, hacker].

Hack (n.) A politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends [syn:

machine politician, ward-heeler, political hack, hack].

Hack (n.) A mediocre and disdained writer [syn: hack, hack writer, literary hack].

Hack (n.) A tool (as a hoe or pick or mattock) used for breaking up the surface of the soil.

Hack (n.) A car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money [syn: cab, hack, taxi, taxicab].

Hack (n.) An old or over-worked horse [syn: hack, jade, nag, plug].

Hack (n.) A horse kept for hire

Hack (n.) A saddle horse used for transportation rather than sport etc.

Hack (v.) Cut with a hacking tool [syn: chop, hack].

Hack (v.) Be able to manage or manage successfully; "I can't hack it anymore"; "she could not cut the long days in the office" [syn: hack, cut].

Hack (v.) Cut away; "he hacked his way through the forest".

Hack (v.) Kick on the arms.

Hack (v.) Kick on the shins.

Hack (v.) Fix a computer program piecemeal until it works; "I'm not very good at hacking but I'll give it my best" [syn: hack, hack on].

Hack (v.) Significantly cut up a manuscript [syn: hack, cut up].

Hack (v.) Cough spasmodically; "The patient with emphysema is hacking all day" [syn: hack, whoop].

Hack (n.) Originally, a quick job that produces what is needed, but not well.

Hack (n.) An incredibly good, and perhaps very time-consuming, piece of work

that produces exactly what is needed.

Hack (v. t.) To bear emotionally or physically. ?I can't hack this heat!?

Hack (v. t.) To work on something (typically a program). In an immediate sense: ?

What are you doing?? ?I'm hacking TECO.? In a general (time-extended) sense: ?What do you do around here?? ?I hack TECO.? More generally, ?I hack foo? is roughly equivalent to ?foo is my major interest (or project)?. ?I hack solid-state physics.? See Hacking X for Y.

Hack (v. t.)  To pull a prank on. See sense 2 and hacker (sense 5).

Hack (v. i.)  To interact with a computer in a playful and exploratory rather than goal-directed way. ?Whatcha up to?? ?Oh, just hacking.?

Hack (n.) Short for hacker.

Hack (n.) See nethack.

Hack (v.) [MIT] To explore the basements, roof ledges, and steam tunnels of a large, institutional building, to the dismay of Physical Plant workers and (since this is usually performed at educational institutions) the Campus Police. This activity has been found to be eerily similar to playing adventure games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Zork. See also vadding.

Constructions on this term abound. They include happy hacking (a farewell), how's hacking? (a friendly greeting among hackers) and hack, hack (a fairly content-free but friendly comment, often used as a temporary farewell). For more on this totipotent term see The Meaning of Hack. See also neat hack, real hack.

Hack, () Originally, a quick job that produces what is needed, but not well.

Hack, () An incredibly good, and perhaps very time-consuming, piece of work that produces exactly what is needed.

Hack, () To bear emotionally or physically.  "I can't hack this heat!"

Hack, () To work on something (typically a program).  In an immediate sense: "What are you doing?"  "I'm hacking TECO."

In a general (time-extended) sense: "What do you do around here?"  "I hack TECO."  More generally, "I hack "foo"" is roughly equivalent to ""foo" is my major interest (or project)".  "I hack solid-state physics."  See Hacking X for Y.

Hack, () To pull a prank on.  See hacker.

Hack, () To interact with a computer in a playful and exploratory rather than goal-directed way.  "Whatcha up to?"  "Oh, just hacking."

Hack, () Short for hacker.

Hack, () See nethack.

Hack, () (MIT) To explore the basements, roof ledges, and steam tunnels of a large, institutional building, to the dismay of Physical Plant workers and (since this is usually performed at educational institutions) the Campus Police.  This activity has been found to be eerily similar to playing adventure games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Zork.  See also vadding.

See also neat hack, real hack.

[{Jargon File]

(1996-08-26)

Hackamore (n.) A halter consisting of a long leather or rope strap and headstall, -- used for leading or tieing a pack animal. [Western U. S.]

Hackamore (n.) Rope or canvas headgear for a horse, with a rope for leading [syn: halter, hackamore].

Hackberry (n.) (Bot.) A genus of trees ({Celtis) related to the elm, but bearing drupes with scanty, but often edible, pulp. C. occidentalis is common in the Eastern United States. -- Gray.

Hackberry (n.) Any of various trees of the genus Celtis having inconspicuous flowers and small berrylike fruits [syn: hackberry, nettle tree].

Hackberry (n.) Small edible dark purple to black berry with large pits; southern United States [syn: sugarberry, hackberry].

Hackberry, LA -- U.S. Census Designated Place in Louisiana

Population (2000): 1699

Housing Units (2000): 818

Land area (2000):  82.241483 sq. miles (213.004455 sq. km)

Water area (2000): 11.443713 sq. miles (29.639080 sq. km)

Total area (2000): 93.685196 sq. miles (242.643535 sq. km)

FIPS code: 32405

Located within: Louisiana (LA), FIPS 22

Location: 29.986485 N, 93.397190 W

ZIP Codes (1990): 70645

Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.

Headwords:

Hackberry, LA

Hackberry

Hackberry, TX -- U.S. town in Texas

Population (2000): 544

Housing Units (2000): 162

Land area (2000): 0.537053 sq. miles (1.390962 sq. km)

Water area (2000): 0.001543 sq. miles (0.003996 sq. km)

Total area (2000): 0.538596 sq. miles (1.394958 sq. km)

FIPS code: 31715

Located within: Texas (TX), FIPS 48

Location: 33.150134 N, 96.918702 W

ZIP Codes (1990):   

Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.

Headwords:

Hackberry, TX

Hackberry

Hackbolt (n.) (Zool.) The greater shearwater or hagdon. See Hagdon.

Hagbut (n.) [OF. haquebute, prob. a corruption of D. haakbus; haak hook + bus gun barrel. See Hook, and 2d Box, and cf. Arquebus.]

A harquebus, of which the but was bent down or hooked for convenience in taking aim. [Written also haguebut and hackbuss.]

Hackbuss (n.) Same as Hagbut.

Hackee (n.) (Zool.) The chipmunk; also, the chickaree or red squirrel. [U. S.]

Compare: Chipmunk

Chipmunk (n.) [Indian name.] (Zool.) A squirrel-like animal of the genus Tamias, sometimes called the striped squirrel, chipping squirrel, ground squirrel, hackee. The common species of the United States   is the Tamias striatus. [Written also chipmonk, chipmuck, and chipmuk.]

Hackee (n.) Small striped semiterrestrial eastern American squirrel with cheek pouches [syn: eastern chipmunk, hackee, striped squirrel, ground squirrel, Tamias striatus]

Hacker (n.) One who, or that which, hacks. Specifically: A cutting instrument for making notches; esp., one used for notching pine trees in collecting turpentine; a hack.

Hacker (n.) Someone who plays golf poorly.

Hacker (n.) 【電腦】熱心於使用電腦的人;【電腦】企圖不法侵入他人電腦系統的人 A programmer who breaks into computer systems in order to steal or change or destroy information as a form of cyber-terrorism [syn: hacker, cyber-terrorist, cyberpunk].

Hacker (n.) A programmer for whom computing is its own reward; may enjoy the challenge of breaking into other computers but does no harm; "true hackers subscribe to a code of ethics and look down upon crackers".

Hacker (n.) One who works hard at boring tasks [syn: hack, drudge, hacker].

Hacker (n.) [originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe] A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. RFC1392, the Internet Users' Glossary, usefully amplifies this as: A person who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer networks in particular.

Hacker (n.) One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming.

Hacker (n.) A person capable of appreciating hack value.

Hacker (n.) A person who is good at programming quickly.

Hacker (n.) An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in ?a Unix hacker?. (Definitions 1 through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.)

Hacker (n.) An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker,

for example.

Hacker (n.) One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.

Hacker (n.) [Deprecated] A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around. Hence password hacker, network hacker. The correct term for this sense is cracker.

The term hacker also tends to connote membership in the global community defined by the net (see the network. For discussion of some of the basics of this culture, see the How To Become A Hacker FAQ. It also implies that the person described is seen to subscribe to some version of the hacker ethic (see hacker ethic).

It is better to be described as a hacker by others than to describe oneself that way.

Hackers consider themselves something of an elite (a meritocracy based on ability), though one to which new members are gladly welcome.

There is thus a certain ego satisfaction to be had in identifying yourself as a hacker (but if you claim to be one and are not, you'll quickly be labeled bogus). See also geek, wannabee.

This term seems to have been first adopted as a badge in the 1960s by the hacker culture surrounding TMRC and the MIT AI Lab. We have a report that it was used in a sense close to this entry's by teenage radio hams and electronics tinkerers in the mid-1950s.

Hacker, () (Originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe) A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.

Hacker, () One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming.

Hacker, () A person capable of appreciating hack value.

Hacker, () A person who is good at programming quickly.

Hacker, () An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in "a Unix hacker". (Definitions 1 through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.)

Hacker, () An expert or enthusiast of any kind.  One might be an astronomy hacker, for example.

Hacker, () One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.

Hacker, () (Deprecated) A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around.  Hence "password hacker", "network hacker".  The correct term is cracker.

The term "hacker" also tends to connote membership in the global community defined by the net (see The Network and Internet address).  It also implies that the person described is seen to subscribe to some version of the hacker ethic.

It is better to be described as a hacker by others than to describe oneself that way.  Hackers consider themselves something of an elite (a meritocracy based on ability), though one to which new members are gladly welcome.  Thus while it is gratifying to be called a hacker, false claimants to the title are quickly labelled as "bogus" or a "{wannabee".

Hacker, () (University of Maryland, rare) A programmer who does not understand proper programming techniques and principles and doesn't have a Computer Science degree.  Someone who just bangs on the keyboard until something happens.  For example, "This program is nothing but spaghetti code.  It must have been written by a hacker".

[{Jargon File]

(1996-08-26)

Hackery (n.) A cart with wooden wheels, drawn by bullocks. [Bengal] -- Malcom.

Hackle (n.) A comb for dressing flax, raw silk, etc.; a hatchel.

Hackle (n.) Any flimsy substance unspun, as raw silk.

Hackle (n.) One of the peculiar, long, narrow feathers on the neck of fowls, most noticeable on the cock, -- often used in making artificial flies; hence, any feather so used.

Hackle (n.) An artificial fly for angling, made of feathers.

Hackled (imp. & p. p.) of Hackle.

Hackling (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Hackle.

Hackle (v. t.) To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or hatchel.

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