Hoop skirt

Hoop Hoop, n. [OE. hope; akin to D. hoep, hoepel.] 1. A pliant strip of wood or metal bent in a circular form, and united at the ends, for holding together the staves of casks, tubs, etc. [1913 Webster]

2. A ring; a circular band; anything resembling a hoop, as the cylinder (cheese hoop) in which the curd is pressed in making cheese. [1913 Webster]

3. A circle, or combination of circles, of thin whalebone, metal, or other elastic material, used for expanding the skirts of ladies' dresses; crinoline; -- used chiefly in the plural. [1913 Webster]

Though stiff with hoops, and armed with ribs of whale. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

4. A quart pot; -- so called because originally bound with hoops, like a barrel. Also, a portion of the contents measured by the distance between the hoops. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

5. An old measure of capacity, variously estimated at from one to four pecks. [Eng.] --Halliwell. [1913 Webster]

{Bulge hoop}, {Chine hoop}, {Quarter hoop}, the hoop nearest the middle of a cask, that nearest the end, and the intermediate hoop between these two, respectively.

{Flat hoop}, a wooden hoop dressed flat on both sides.

{Half-round hoop}, a wooden hoop left rounding and undressed on the outside.

{Hoop iron}, iron in thin narrow strips, used for making hoops.

{Hoop lock}, the fastening for uniting the ends of wooden hoops by notching and interlocking them.

{Hoop skirt}, a framework of hoops for expanding the skirts of a woman's dress; -- called also {hoop petticoat}.

{Hoop snake} (Zo["o]l.), a harmless snake of the Southern United States ({Abaster erythrogrammus}); -- so called from the mistaken notion that it curves itself into a hoop, taking its tail into its mouth, and rolls along with great velocity.

{Hoop tree} (Bot.), a small West Indian tree ({Melia sempervirens}), of the Mahogany family. [1913 Webster]