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Award winner author of gardening humor books

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May Dreams Gardens

Origin of the Word Hoe As It Refers To…

February 6, 2009 By Carol Michel 16 Comments

***Important Hoe Information***

Alert reader and friend Mary Ann, the Idaho Gardener, recently sent me some extremely helpful information on the origin of the use of the word “hoe” in reference to women.

I know many people, both gardeners and non-gardeners, have a certain image of women in mind when I discuss hoes, but I have always claimed ignorance that the word “hoe” could refer to anything other than a garden tool used for digging, scratching, and well, “hoeing” in the dirt.

But not any more! Now I have a brand new image for hoes.

Mary Ann’s book club is reading the book The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gorden-Reed and came across this quote:

“…In other words, black women who were out of slavery were treated like white men instead of like white women. As the years passed, the connection between black women and hard physical labor became so firmly entrenched in the minds of white masters that the women “were as one with their farming tools and called, simply, hoes.”

The quote is footnoted and credited to the book Good Wives, Nasty Wenches, and Anxious Patriarchs: Gender, Race, and Power in Colonial Virginia by Kathleen M. Brown.

I’m glad that’s all cleared up and am grateful that Mary Ann sent this to me! Thanks, Mary Ann!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: hoes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    February 6, 2009 at 12:10 pm

    Hi Carol, that is indeed good information. Let us tell Snoop Doggy Dogg about that meaning, for I believe he and others have taken the word from someplace else. But I could be mistaken. They need to be informed of the correct history of the word, and correct any misconceptions among their fans. I suggest you send him an email.
    Frances

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    February 6, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    Please add a smiley face to the above comment. It was accidently left out. 🙂
    F

    Reply
  3. Unknown says

    February 6, 2009 at 12:53 pm

    That’s interesting!

    Reply
  4. LINDA from Each Little World says

    February 6, 2009 at 1:50 pm

    Without a doubt, that is the most interesting/amazing/historic/quirky bit of information that I learned this week. (It may prove be the most interesting bit this whole year). Thanks for passing it on.

    And what a laugh, that the rappers are saying something entirely different than they intended but only a few of us are in on the joke!

    Reply
  5. Rose says

    February 6, 2009 at 1:54 pm

    Very interesting, Carol, and thanks for this information! I always enjoy learning some new facts about word origins. I remember many years ago reading Romeo and Juliet with my freshman classes when they started snickering at the line, “What, ho!” It takes awhile for adults to learn the latest teenage slang, so I had no idea what they were giggling about. If I were still teaching, I might invite you in as a guest speaker, Carol, to explain the origin of this term. You could even bring your hoe collection!:)

    Reply
  6. Helen @ Gardening With Confidence says

    February 6, 2009 at 2:05 pm

    Wow, that’s great. Maybe you chould change you tweet to Indyhoe or just the Garden Hoe

    Reply
  7. Mr. McGregor's Daughter says

    February 6, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    What a rehabilitation of the word “hoe,” I love it! Of course, like Rose, I’m also a fan of etymology and the various connotations of words. Words have such power, for good or ill. I’m glad your beloved hoes can hold their metaphorical heads a little higher today.

    Reply
  8. Cindy, MCOK says

    February 6, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    OK, this has me wondering how the tool came to be named a hoe? According to Webster’s: Middle English howe, from Middle French houe, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German houwa mattock, houwan to hew.

    This would be a great trivia question for a Spring Fling icebreaker, wouldn’t it?

    Reply
  9. Unknown says

    February 6, 2009 at 2:24 pm

    Well, at least the (bad) word has something to do with working outside in a garden! Now I won’t feel so insulted when I hear it.

    Reply
  10. MA says

    February 6, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    As you know Dear Indy, I was just aiming to provide you with all the good information I came across. Like the other commenters, I was glad to know hoe means hoe, the tool, not something else. Now would be a good time to proclaim: Free at Last!

    Reply
  11. Anonymous says

    February 6, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    Very interesting.~~Dee

    Reply
  12. Lisa at Greenbow says

    February 6, 2009 at 7:10 pm

    I haven’t ever heard this before. A good thing to know.

    Reply
  13. Kathy says

    February 6, 2009 at 8:22 pm

    While I’m glad to be enlightened, it still sounds demeaning to reduce women to their agricultural function. They weren’t even called hoe-ers, but hoes.

    Reply
  14. Aunt Debbi/kurts mom says

    February 6, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    I just started reading that book. Looks like it will be very interesting indeed.

    Reply
  15. Anonymous says

    February 6, 2009 at 8:53 pm

    Interesting…I always thought ho was a sound-shifted homonym for whore.

    Well, I’ve been a hoe today, that’s for sure, struggling to dig up the nandina.

    On the male side, we think of workers as hired hands (or to be more Latinate) manual workers…as opposed to individual people–not exactly the sum of their parts, just the part the boss or master values.

    Reply
  16. LindaCTG says

    February 7, 2009 at 3:28 am

    Thank you so much for sharing this important insight into history and language.

    Reply

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