ham hock
4
4.8
- noun
- /hæm hɑk/
:
codillo de jamón
- The pretty barmaid delivers a steaming plate of ham hocks.
- smoked ham hock
- cook with ham hocks
- greens with ham hock
Examples
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Bean soup mit ham hocks.
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We got ham hocks, pickles, pig's feet.
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- You sure do make good ham hock.
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I think it's ham hocks and red beans.
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Red beans and ham hocks.
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Greens and ham hocks with lots of black pepper.
Fiction book (1990) -
Well, maybe a deboned ham hock, but that takes a whole lot of prep.
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To add flavor to the soup, use a ham hock while it simmers.
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Simmer the ham hock in the pot to enhance the taste of the stew.
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The recipe calls for a smoked ham hock to enrich the beans' flavor.
How Flavorful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'ham' (pork) + 'hock' (the lower leg/ankle joint) yields a cut of pork from the hock area, so the overall meaning can be derived from the parts. This noun–noun compounding is a straightforward, cross‑linguistic naming pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand it.
Etymology
Ham hock comes from the parts of a pig: ham means cured pork and the hock is the lower part of the leg, so the name pictures that small pork piece. Because cooks often used this piece 'to add flavor' to soups and stews, ham hock now means a cut of pork used for its smoky, salty taste.