howk

howk (third-person singular simple present howks, present participle howking, simple past and past participle howked)

1. (UK, dialect, transitive) To disturb by digging.
   • 1863, Charles Kingsley, The Water Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby:

     But Tom he pecked and howked the poor water-things about sadly, till they were all afraid of him, and got out of his way, or crept into their shells; so he had no one to speak to or play with.

From earlier holk, from Middle English holken, from holk (“a hollow part, cavity”), see holk. Cognate with Low German holken (“to make hollow, hollow out”).

howk (third-person singular simple present howks, present participle howkin, simple past howkit, past participle howkit)

1. to dig
2. to dig out, uproot
3. to mine or quarry
4. to dig into, investigate
5. to root, burrow (pigs etc)