haunch

The haunch is the thick, muscular area around the hip and upper leg, especially in animals such as deer, boar, or cattle. In cooking, a "haunch of venison" means a large cut from the rear leg and hip. The word can also be used for people, usually when talking about the hips, thighs, or buttocks. You will often meet it in the phrase "on one's haunches," which means squatting low with the weight resting on the bent legs. Unlike "hunch," which can mean a feeling or a rounded back, this word refers to a physical part of the body.

The word "haunch" came into English through Old French hanche and names the fleshy, powerful part of the body around the hip, thigh, and rear leg. It is used most naturally for animals, where it suggests strength, motion, and weight. When a deer springs forward, a hound crouches before the chase, or a horse drives uphill, this is the part of the body doing much of the work. In that sense, the word often carries a feeling of stored power.

From there, the meaning extends in two common directions. One is bodily description: a dog may sit back on its haunches, and a person may crouch on their haunches close to the ground. The other is food: a "haunch of venison" or other game refers to a large cut taken from the animal's rear quarter. In both cases, the idea is the same: the heavy, muscular back part of the body.

In writing, the word helps fix a scene in the body. An animal can lower itself onto its haunches in patience or warning; a person can balance on their haunches while waiting, watching, or working close to the earth. It is sometimes confused with "hunch," but the two are different: a hunch is a feeling or a bent upper back, while a haunch is the lower, fleshy part near the hip and thigh. Whether the setting is a hunt, a kitchen, or a quiet moment of crouching, the word points to the solid rear strength of a living body.