Hoop (?), n. [OE. hope; akin to
D. hoep, hoepel.] 1. A pliant
strip of wood or metal bent in a circular form, and united at the
ends, for holding together the staves of casks, tubs, etc.
2. A ring; a circular band; anything
resembling a hoop, as the cylinder (cheese hoop) in which the curd is
pressed in making cheese.
3. A circle, or combination of circles, of
thin whalebone, metal, or other elastic material, used for expanding
the skirts of ladies' dresses; crinoline; -- used chiefly in the
plural.
Though stiff with hoops, and armed with ribs of
whale.
Pope.
4. A quart pot; -- so called because
originally bound with hoops, like a barrel. Also, a portion of the
contents measured by the distance between the hoops. [Obs.]
5. An old measure of capacity, variously
estimated at from one to four pecks. [Eng.]
Halliwell.
Bulge hoop, Chine hoop,
Quarter hoop, the hoop nearest the middle of a
cask, that nearest the end, and the intermediate hoop between these
two, respectively. -- Flat hoop, a wooden
hoop dressed flat on both sides. -- Half-round
hoop, a wooden hoop left rounding and undressed on the
outside. -- Hoop iron, iron in thin narrow
strips, used for making hoops. -- Hoop lock,
the fastening for uniting the ends of wooden hoops by notching
and interlocking them. -- Hoop skirt, a
framework of hoops for expanding the skirts of a woman's dress; --
called also hoop petticoat. -- Hoop
snake (Zoöl.), a harmless snake of the
Southern United States (Abaster erythrogrammus); -- so called
from the mistaken notion that it curves itself into a hoop, taking
its tail into its mouth, and rolls along with great velocity. --
Hoop tree (Bot.), a small West Indian
tree (Melia sempervirens), of the Mahogany family.
Hoop, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Hooped (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Hooping.] 1. To bind or fasten with
hoops; as, to hoop a barrel or puncheon.
2. To clasp; to encircle; to surround.
Shak.
Hoop (?), v. i. [OE. houpen; cf.
F. houper to hoop, to shout; -- a hunting term, prob. fr.
houp, an interj. used in calling. Cf. Whoop.]
1. To utter a loud cry, or a sound imitative of
the word, by way of call or pursuit; to shout. [Usually written
whoop.]
2. To whoop, as in whooping cough. See
Whoop.
Hooping cough. (Med.) See Whooping
cough.
Hoop, v. t. [Written also
whoop.] 1. To drive or follow with a
shout. "To be hooped out of Rome." Shak.
2. To call by a shout or peculiar
cry.
Hoop, n. 1. A
shout; a whoop, as in whooping cough.
2. (Zoöl.) The hoopoe. See
Hoopoe.