# hove

> English word · Verb · IPA /həʊv/ · frequency rank #27,871

## Definitions
1. To remain suspended in air, water etc.; to float, to hover.
2. To wait, linger.
3. To move on or by.
4. To remain; delay.
5. To remain stationary (usually on horseback).

## Etymology
From Middle English hoven (“to linger, wait, hover, move aside, entertain, cherish, foster”), from Old English *hofian (“to receive into one's house”), from Proto-Germanic *hufōną (“to house, lodge”), from Proto-Germanic *hufą (“hill, height, farm, dwelling”), from Proto-Indo-European *keup- (“to arch, bend, buckle”).
Cognate with Old Frisian hovia (“to receive into one's home, entertain”), Old Dutch hoven (“to receive into one's home, entertain”). Related to Old English hof (“court, house, dwelling”). More at hovel.

## Easily confused with
- **hv** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hv)
- **how** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-how)
- **hue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hue)
- **hye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hye)
- **HPV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hpv)
- **hoy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hoy)
- **hse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hse)
- **huge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-huge)
- **hype** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hype)
- **Hyde** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hyde)
- **Howe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-howe)
- **Hume** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hume)
- **howl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-howl)
- **hows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hows)
- **Hoya** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hoya)
- **hover** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hover)
- **Howie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-howie)
- **hoyer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hoyer)
- **Hoyle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hoyle)
- **he** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/he-vs-hove)

## Common misspellings (5)
`hhove`, `hoev`, `hovve`, `hvoe`, `ohve`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hove