1. An intuitive feeling about something: Jeremy had a hunch that the shabbily dressed person on the corner was trying to "humbug" him into giving the man some money.
2. A stoop or a curved posture of the body with the head down and shoulders forward: A famous person in history with a hunch was the "Hunchback of Notre Dame".
3. A large lump or slice of something: "MMM – chocolate", Marjory said as she cut herself a hunch of cake.
4. Etymology: originally (1581) a verb, "to push, to thrust", of unknown origin.

Until the rise of scientific medicine, it was generally believed that a deformed person had special links with the demonic world.

• A gross malformation; such as, a hump or hunch in the spine was considered to be a mark of great psychic powers.
• With special connections with the devil, a hunchback was believed to be capable of seeing into the future.
• For centuries, accurate predictions were strongly linked with the possession of a gnarled back.
• As a result, any premonition or flash of insight came to be known as a hunch.

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1. To bend or to draw up into a hump: Shanna hunched her shoulders as she walked against the wind.
2. To push or to shove; to thrust oneself forward: The little boy wanted to be in the front of the photograph, so he hunched himself through the group.
3. To assume a crouched or cramped posture: When the dog came into the room, the cat hunched in a corner.

Pertaining to a feeling or premonition that a certain thing will take place or a curved posture of the body with the head down and shoulders leaning forward. (1)