hammock

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish hamaca, from Taíno *hamaka (compare Arawak hamaka, Wayuu jama'a), from Proto-Arawak *hamaka. Columbus, in the narrative of his first voyage, says: “A great many Indians in canoes came to the ship to-day for the purpose of bartering their cotton, and hamacas, or nets, in which they sleep.”

noun

1. A swinging couch or bed, usually made of netting or canvas about six feet wide, suspended by clews or cords at the ends.
2. (US, archaic outside dialects) A piece of land thickly wooded, and usually covered with bushes and vines.

verb

1. (intransitive) To lie in a hammock.
   I fancied that we — I and who? — hammocked among the summer breezes. 1901, Yone Noguchi, The American Diary of a Japanese Girl (wiki article)
2. (transitive, of a cloth) To hang in a way that resembles a hammock.
   She hammocked their plaids between the table and the bed, then edged her way past Kenneth as she approached the central hearth. 2013, Mary Jo Putney, Patricia Rice, Susan King, Christmas Roses: Love Blooms in Winter
3. (transitive) To make something be wrapped tight, like in a hammock.
   She hammocked her breasts into her bra, snapped it, hitched at it, and gave herself a profile glance in the mirror. 1960, John D. MacDonald, The Only Girl in the Game
4. (transitive, broadcasting) To schedule (a new or unpopular programme) between two popular ones in the hope that viewers will watch it.
   Coordinate term: tentpole