husk
/hʌsk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.84 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The dry, leafy or stringy exterior of certain vegetables or fruits, which must be removed before eating the meat inside.
noun
The supporting frame of a run of millstones.
Example Sentences
- "A coconut has a very thick husk."
- "His attorney was a dried-up husk of a man."
- "Unlike dogs, cats have retractable claws which do not wear down when walking. Instead, cats pull the old husk of nail from their claws by raking them down some convenient piece of wood, to expose a new sharp claw underneath."
- "Isn't it just like that in your average husk of hares."
- "The image is of a husk of hares surprised by some intruder and scattering in all directions to wooded safety."
- "He may 50 be as mad as a whole husk of hares in March, but he’s nothing to do with us, thank goodness"
Etymology
From Middle English huske, husk (“husk”). Perhaps from Old English *husuc, *hosuc (“little covering, sheath”), diminutive of hosu (“pod, shell, husk”), from Proto-West Germanic *hosā, from Proto-Germanic *husǭ (“covering, shell, leggings”), from Proto-Indo-European *kawəs- / kawes- (“cover”). If so, equivalent to hose + -ock. Alternatively from Middle Low German hûs(e)ken, hü̂seken (“little house, sheath”), Middle Dutch husekijn (“little house, core of fruit, case”), diminutive of hûs (“house”). Compare Dutch huisje, German Häuschen, both also used for “snailshell”.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: huske, *hosā, *husǭ, hûseken, husekijn
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /hʌsk/
- British English: /hʌsk/