hash
UK[hæʃ]US[hæʃ]
n
A dish of cooked meat cut into small pieces and recooked, usually with potatoes.
n
The symbol #.
n
A confused mixture; a mess.
v
To chop or cut (meat or vegetables) into small pieces.
v
To discuss or argue about (something) at length.
Etymology
The word 'hash' entered English in the late 16th century from the French 'hacher', meaning 'to chop into small pieces'. This French term is rooted in 'hache', the word for an axe, highlighting the action of chopping. The culinary sense of chopped and recooked meat came first, with the figurative meanings of 'a muddle' and the verb 'to discuss thoroughly' developing later, the latter perhaps evoking the image of chopping a topic into fine details. The use of 'hash' for the # symbol is a more recent, arbitrary adoption from the world of computing and telephony.
Analysis
The word 'hash' is a simplex form. It is derived from the French verb 'hacher', meaning 'to chop'. 'Hacher' itself originates from the Old French 'hache', meaning 'axe', which is of Germanic origin.
Examples
For dinner, we had corned beef hash with a fried egg on top.
Please enter your PIN followed by the hash key.
The committee spent the afternoon hashing out the final details of the agreement.