Wow, I never realized there were that many def.'s of the word hack! Thanks, WW. I couldn't help wondering whether they all came from the same root. The only etymology I found in AHD is: Middle English hakken, from Old English -haccian. , so possibly it covers all of them. I was a little disappointed; I was expecting something more like what I found when I looked up the adjacent word hackamore: ETYMOLOGY: Alteration of Spanish jáquima, halter, from Old Spanish xaquima, from Arabic akma, bit of a bridle, from akama, to bridle. Hey--do you-all reckon the Arabs used akama when a person bridled?