Hammock
/ˈhæm.ək/noun
A hanging bed or swinging bed made of fabric or netting.
Did you know?English got hammock from Spanish, which borrowed it from Taíno, the Indigenous Caribbean language where it referred to a woven hanging bed used for sleeping and protection from the ground.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian Caribbean
Taíno
hamaca
“A woven hanging bed or netted sleeping sling”
16th Century
Spanish
hamaca
“A hanging bed used aboard ships and in the Caribbean”
16th–17th Century
French
hamac
“A suspended bed or sling”
17th Century
English
hammock
“A hanging bed, especially one suspended between supports”
Modern English
English
hammock
“A sling-like bed of cloth or netting, often used outdoors”