honk

Meaning

Concepts

(neuter, rare) home, place where one belongs, shelter
(neuter) base (safe zone, e.g. in baseball and similar sports)

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɦɔŋk/

Inherited from Middle Dutch

Inherited from Old Dutch

In summary

From Middle Dutch honc, likely through Old Dutch from Proto-Germanic *hank-, *hunk-. Only has cognates in the Frisian languages and possibly in the Old High German placename Hancwin. Since cognates outside of Germanic are lacking, the word is probably of substrate origin. Possibly related to haak (“hook”) and hoek (“corner”).