▪ I. chock, n.1
(tʃɒk)
Also 8–9 choak, and chuck q.v.
[Chock and chuck appear to have been originally variants of the same word, which are now somewhat differentiated. Though they appear late, they may possibly go back to ONF. *chuque, choque, chouque (mod.Pic. choke, Norm. chouque) = OF. {cced}uche, zuche, {cced}ouche, souche ‘log or block of wood’; cf. It. ciocco a burning log, block of wood, stump; also ciocca bunch, cluster, tuft, etc. In Eng. the word appears to have been influenced by choke, with which it is occas. confounded under the forms choke, choak.]
1. A lumpy piece of wood, esp. for burning; a block or log, dial. a ‘clog’.
| 1674 [see chuck]. 1852 W. Cooper Gloss. Provinc. Sussex, Chucks, large chips of wood. 1877 E. Peacock N.W. Lincolnsh. Gloss., Chock, Chog, a small log or block of wood. 1881 Isle of Wight Gloss. (E.D.S.), Chocks, small pieces of wood. |
2. Turning. A contrivance for fixing the material to be turned to the mandril of the lathe; now chuck. Also attrib.
| 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 192 Sockets, or Chocks, belonging to the Screw-Mandrel. 1786 Phil. Trans. LXXVI. 31 A stout mandrel, or arbor, for a chock Lathe. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 150 Chocks, cylindrical pieces of wood or iron, screw-cut at one end, to screw into the end of a mandrel. 1803 Ann. Reg. 780 Being afterwards strongly cemented to a plug or chock, [it] is screwed upon the lathe. 1822 J. Imison Sc. & Art II. 147 Place it on the collar at the chock end of the screw. |
3. A term applied to a block of wood (usually wedge-shaped) used to stop a cask, wheel, or other body from moving; spec. a block (of wood, etc.) placed in front of an aeroplane wheel. boat-chocks: ‘clamps of wood upon which a boat rests when stowed on a vessel's deck’ (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk.)
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Chock, a sort of wedge used to confine a cask or other weighty body..when the ship is in motion. 1775 Falch Day's Diving Vess. 27, I secured them in proper chocks on the gunnels of the barges. 1849 Weale Dict. Terms 98/2 The longboat rests upon two large chocks when it is stowed. 1861 Windsor Express 5 Oct., To remove the chocks or wedges connected with one of the lattice girders. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Chock (Ship-building), a block, preferably wedge-shaped, driven behind the props of a cradle to prevent it from slipping on the ways before the ship is ready to launch. 1875 Lanc. Gloss., Chock, a wedge for fastening the cart to the shafts. 1876 Robinson Whitby Gloss., Chock, a wedge to keep the window from shaking, Chock'd, wedged. 1877 E. Peacock N.W. Lincolnsh. Gloss., Chock, Chog, a block or stone used to chock, or scotch the wheel of a cart or waggon. 1881 Daily Tel. 28 Jan., We had only one boat, and no tackles ready to lift her out of the chocks. 1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings 16 The chocks were pulled clear, and away and up raced the machine. 1942 in H. G. Bryden Wings x. 276 She quivers and rocks as she strains at the chocks And clamours amain to soar. |
4. a. Mining. See quot. 1888.
| 1708 J. C. Compl. Collier (1845) 21 We lay Choak Deals which is Deales put in as fast, or all along, as we dig the Sand, or Earth. 1881 in Raymond Mining Gloss. 1885 Times 10 July 10 A lighted candle placed against a chock in the working place of John Dyke. 1888 Addy Sheffield Gloss., Chock, a thick, rectangular block of wood, used in building up a strong support for the roof in coal-mining. |
b. chock and log (fence), a fence raised by placing layers of logs on ‘chocks’ or short wooden blocks placed transversely to the line of the fence. Austral.
| 1872 G. S. Baden-Powell New Homes for Old Country 207 Another fence, known as ‘chock and log’, is composed of long logs resting on piles of chocks, or short blocks of wood. 1890 Melbourne Argus 20 Sept. 13/5 A herd of kangaroos..bounding over the wire and ‘chock-and-log’ fences. |
5. In various applications on ship-board: e.g. a. ‘Smaller pieces of wood used to make good some deficiency in the main piece, as those at the head and heels of timbers, the frame-knees,’ etc. (Weale Rudim. Navig. 106).
b. ‘Blocks of timber latterly substituted beneath the beams for knees, and wedged by iron keys’ (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk.).
c. ‘A piece of timber, framed into the heads and heels of ship's timber at their junctions, to act as a lap to the joint, and make up the deficiency at the inner angle’ (Knight Dict. Mech.).
d. chocks of the rudder: ‘large accurately adapted pieces of timber kept in readiness to choak the rudder, by filling up the excavation on the side of the rudder hole in case of any accident, when a ship is likely to get strong stern-way, etc.’ (Smyth).
e. anchor chocks: see anchor n.1 7.
| 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 160 Chock, a square tapering piece of elm..used in strapping large blocks. 1804 Naval Chron. XII. 479 Shipped the rudder-choaks. 1806 Ann. Reg. (1804) 525, 10 vessels, completely fitted with slides, chocks, iron-bolts, sweeps, etc. 1837 Marryat Dog-fiend xlii, He stood up on the choak to ascertain what way she was making through the water. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 26 Reeve it through the after sheeve in the chock. 1860 Gosse Romance Nat. Hist. 260 In attempting to throw the line clear from the chock, a turn caught his left wrist. 1863 Scotsman 21 Aug., Laden to the chocks with cannon and bombshells. |
6. pl. Blocks of wood or stone placed in or upon any machine to add to its weight and steadiness; e.g. stones placed in a mangle, weights laid on a harrow, roller, etc.
7. dial. (See quot.) Hence chock-hole.
| 1884 Holland Chesh. Gloss. (E.D.S.), Chockhole, the deep rutty hole to be met with in many of the bye-roads or occupation roads in the country. 1887 S. Cheshire Gloss. (E.D.S.), Chock, an inequality, roughness in a road..also used quasi-adverbially = joltingly. ‘Theer yo gon chock (or chick-chock) o'er a stone’. |
8. attrib., as chockstone, a stone wedged in a vertical cleft.
| 1909 C. E. Benson Brit. Mountaineering iv. 72 A chockstone is a piece of rock which has fallen from higher up the cliff, and has been caught and wedged in its descent between the lateral walls of a fissure. 1924 J. Buchan 3 Hostages xxi. 312 After a rather awkward chockstone, I came to a fork. 1956 C. Evans Kanchenjunga xii. 127 Two moves brought him to a chockstone to which he fastened a second runner. |
▪ II. † chock, -e, n.2
Obs. form of shock.
▪ III. chock, n.3
(tʃɒk)
[Imitative.]
A hollow sound, such as is made by chopping. So chock-chock.
| 1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers ii. 36 Mrs. Morel could hear the chock of the [cricket] ball. 1922 ‘K. Mansfield’ Garden Party 72 And now there came the chock-chock of wooden hammers. 1954 W. Faulkner Fable (1955) 228 The dreamy chock of the woodcutter's axe. |
▪ IV. chock, v.
(tʃɒk)
[app. f. chock n.1]
† 1. intr. to chock in: to fit in tightly or exactly; to wedge in. Obs. (Cf. choke v.)
| 1662 Fuller Worthies 149 The wood-work..exactly chocketh into the joynts again. 1786 Phil. Trans. LXXVI. 43 A small cylinder of hard steel..made of a size so as just to chock in betwixt the extremities of the teeth. |
2. trans. To furnish, supply, or fit with a chock or chocks; to make fast with a chock; to wedge (a wheel, cask, etc.); also with up.
| 1854 Bartlett Mex. Boundary I. xii. 296 It was only by putting a shoulder to the wheels, and chocking them at every five or six feet, that these hills could be surmounted. 1859 F. Griffiths Artil. Man (1862) 103 Chock the wheels of the light guns. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 64 The casks are..well chocked up with firewood. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 60 Have the waist netting well chocked and shored up. |
3. To place (a boat) upon chocks.
| 1840 R. Dana Bef. Mast xxiv. 76 We got..the launch and pinnace hoisted, chocked, and griped. |
Hence chocking vbl. n.; also attrib.
| 1859 F. Griffiths Artil. Man. (1862) 110 This is called scotching, or chocking, and the handspikes are called ‘chocking handspikes’. |
▪ V. † chock, v.2 and v.3
obs. form of chuck, shock.
▪ VI. chock a. dial.
Short for chock-full.
| 1863 Robson Bards of Tyne 77 Ivery nuik was chock. 1881 Leicestersh. Gloss. (E.D.S.), Chock and Chock-full, var. of ‘choke-full’ full to suffocation. |
▪ VII. chock, adv.
Also choke.
[Partly f. chock n. and v.1; but largely deduced from chock-full.]
1. a. As close or tight as can be; so as to press ‘dead’ against, stop ‘dead’, etc.
| 1832 J. P. Kennedy Swallow B. I. xiv. 150 It's only the big wheel stopped as chock as a tombstone. 1834 Sir H. Taylor Artevelde ii. iii. i, I drew a shaft Chock to the steel, and..Aimed it at Serjeant Laubscher's heart. 1856 Kane Arct. Exp. I. xxvii. 361 A newly-broken team-dog..carried one of the runners chock against the edge of the circle. 1880 Mrs. Whitney Odd or Even xiii. 103 Seized up a great stone, and crowded it chock against the grinding, slipping wheel. |
b. with adverbs, as chock aft, chock-home, chock-tight, chock-up.
| 1799 J. M. in Naval Chron. II. 71 The small block is chock up to the truck. 1834 M. Scott Cruise Midge (1863) 13 Irresolute whether to run it choke up or haul it down again. 1840 R. Dana Bef. Mast xvii. 46 We..ran her chock up to the yard. Ibid. xxv. 83 The seas..washing chock aft to the taffrail. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. xiv, Drawn chock-tight round his neck. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Chock-aft, chock-full, chock-home, chock-up, etc., denote as far aft, full, home, up, etc., as possible, or that which fits closely to one another. |
c. chock-a-block (Naut.), said of a tackle with the two blocks run close together so that they touch each other—the limit of hoisting; transf. jammed or crammed close together; also of a place or person, crammed with, chock-full of.
| 1840 R. Dana Bef. Mast xxv. 82 Hauling the reef-tackles chock-a-block. 1850 H. Melville White-Jacket II. xxxi. 209, I'm blessed if we ar'n't about chock a' block here! 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Chock-a-block, or Chock and Block is the same with block-a-block and two-blocks. 1881 W. C. Russell Sailor's Sweeth. II. ii. 122 They hoisted it chock a block. 1885 H. O. Forbes Naturalist's Wand. iii. viii. 259 Sideways, lengthwise, crossways, choke-a-block, as if the river had swept away a village or two and stranded them there anyhow. 1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 30 Sept. 6/2 You will find the place chock-a-block. 1894 Idler Sept. 132 We'll see..if that there foundered ship ain't a-going to work out this traverse the same as if she was chock-a-block with bullion. 1903 Smart Set IX. 9/1 Good-for-nothings in shop 22, who were full, chock-a-block, of socialism. 1946 W. S. Maugham Then & Now v. 15 The city's two or three inns were chock-a-block and men were sleeping three, four and five in a bed. |