From Middle High German hæhse, alternative form of hahse, hehse, from Old High German hāhsena, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄hasinu, from Proto-Germanic *hanhasinwō. Cognate with German Hachse, Haxe, (older also Hächse, Hechse), Dutch haas, English hock (obsolete dialectal huxen), Swedish has.