Word of the Day

: March 24, 2010

hummock

noun HUM-uk

What It Means

1 : a rounded knoll or hillock

2 : a ridge of ice

3 : a fertile area in the southern United States and especially Florida that is usually higher than its surroundings and that is characterized by hardwood vegetation and deep humus-rich soil

hummock in Context

Cattle and sparse vegetation dot a rolling landscape of hummocks and shallow valleys.

Did You Know?

"Hummock" first appeared in English in the mid-1500s as an alteration of "hammock," another word which can be used for a small hill. This "hammock" is not related to the "hammock" we use to refer to a swinging bed made of netting or canvas. That "hammock" comes from the Spanish "hamaca," and ultimately from Taino, a language spoken by the original inhabitants of the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. The origins of the other "hammock" and the related "hummock" are still obscure, though they are related to Middle Low German "hummel" ("small height") and "hump" ("bump"). English also borrowed "hump," another word which can refer to a small hill or hummock.