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Added 9 October 2026

hug

/hʌɡ/ noun

In Latin: complexus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about hug at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A tight or amorous embrace.
come here and give me a big hug

verb

Hold (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness.
Hug me, please
Fit closely or tightly.
The dress hugged her hips

Origin

From earlier hugge (“to embrace, clasp with the arms”) (1560), probably representing a conflation of huck (“to crouch, huddle down”) and Old Norse hugga (“to comfort, console”), from hugr (“mind, heart, thought”), from Proto-Germanic *hugiz (“mind, thought, sense”), cognate with Icelandic hugga (“to comfort”), Old English hyġe (“thought”) (whence high (Etymology 2)).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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