Added 9 October 2026
hunch
/hʌnt͡ʃ/ noun
In Latin: gibbus, gibber Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about hunch at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
verb
-
To bend the top of one's body forward while raising one's shoulders.
Don't hunch over your computer if you want to avoid neck problems.
-
To raise (one's shoulders) (while lowering one's head or bending the top of one's body forward); to curve (one's body) forward (sometimes followed by up).
They stood outside the door hunching themselves against the rain and puffing on their cigarettes.
- To walk (somewhere) while hunching one's shoulders.
Origin
Assibilated variant of hunk, of uncertain origin. Alternatively, a derivative of hump, via an earlier Middle English *hunche, *humpchin, from *hump + -chin, -chen (diminutive suffix), equivalent to hump + -kin. In the sense of an intuitive impression, said to be from the old gambling superstition that it brings luck to touch the hump of a hunchback.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)