What does hanch mean?
Hanch is a chiefly Scots noun meaning the haunch or buttock, the fleshy part of the body at the back of the thigh. It can also refer more generally to the upper rear part of the leg, and, especially when describing an animal, to the hindquarter. The word is related closely to the standard English haunch, which is more widely understood and is normally used in modern British and American English. Hanch is uncommon outside Scottish writing, dialect, historical texts, and works that make deliberate use of regional language. Its appearance often gives a passage a traditional, rural, or distinctly Scottish atmosphere, although its basic meaning is straightforward rather than figurative. For readers seeking a precise anatomical description, haunch is usually the natural modern choice. Hanch is worth knowing as a Scots form and as evidence of the older vocabulary that survives in regional speech.
nounChiefly Scots: the haunch, buttock, or upper thigh, especially of a person or animal. By extension, it can refer to an animal’s hindquarter.
- The haunch, buttock, or upper thigh, especially of a person or animal.
- The hindquarter or rear part of an animal’s body.
"The mare shifted her weight from one hanch to the other as the cart jolted over the stones."
"He complained of an ache in his hanch after the long walk home."
"The butcher inspected the animal’s hanch before making the cut."
The regular plural is hanches.
"The animal’s two hanches were marked with dark spots."
Hanch is the Scots cousin of haunch, preserving an old word for the back of the leg that now mostly survives in dialect, literature, and historical writing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of hanch
Hanch is a Scots form associated with the older English and Scots word haunch, with hance and hench representing related historical spellings. These forms belong to a word that was borrowed into English from Old French hanche, meaning the hip or haunch. The Scots form has continued in regional usage, while haunch became the established standard-English form.
How hanch is actually used
Chiefly Scottish and now relatively uncommon in standard contemporary English. In modern writing it can sound deliberately Scots, literary, archaic, or regional unless used in a context where that character is appropriate.
Easily confused with hanch
Haunch is the standard English word for the back of the thigh or buttock, while hanch is chiefly a Scots or archaic variant with the same basic meaning.