1 infested, overrun with: The auld hoose wis hoachin wi mice. la18-.
2 of places very busy, full: Even the woods were hotching with soldiers, all training and preparing for invasion. 20-. etymology: Scots; northern Middle English hotch; compare Dutch hotsen (v) ‘jog, jolt’; Middle High German, German dialect hotzen (verb) ‘move up and down’; attested by JS and BW