hacking

Definition

Short and interrupted, broken, jerky; hacky.

Etymology

From Middle English *hackynge, hackande, hakand, equivalent to hack + -ing.

Example Sentences

• "A hacking cough. A hacking laugh. A hacking breath. A hacking cry."
• "“So now everything's fine.” I uttered a hacking laugh. “No,” I said, in answer to a query from Aunt Dahlia. “I have not accidentally swallowed my tonsils, I was merely laughing hackingly. Ironical that the young blister should say that everything is fine, for at this very moment disaster stares us in the eyeball.”"