hull

Hull, a husk, is from Old English hulu; hull, the body of a ship, is first recorded in 1571 and may be the same word or a different one.^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /hʌl/^[3]

hull¹ husk

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English hol, hulle, inherited from Old English hulu (“husk, pod”),^[1][2][4] from the base of Old English helan, to cover,^[4][5] from Proto-Germanic *hulu-,^[2][1] source also of Old High German hulla, covering (German Hülle), and hulsa, husk (German Hülse), and Dutch huls,^[1][2] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to cover, conceal”).^[2][1] See hell.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The shell, pod or husk of peas and beans: about 1000.^[6][1]

Semantic evolution

The cuticle of grain, bran, is from about 1450,^[6] and the calyx of certain fruits from 1883.^[6] Figurative use, a covering or envelope, is by 1831.^[2][6] The verb, to remove the husk, is from the early 15th century;^[2] hulled can mean both having a hull and stripped of it.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – a pod or husk.^[6]
• early 15th century – the verb.^[2]
• c. 1450 – bran.^[6]
• 1831 – a covering.^[6]
• 1883 – the calyx of a fruit.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The dry outer covering of a fruit, seed or nut; a husk.
2. The green calyx at the base of a strawberry or similar fruit.

Verb

1. To remove the hulls of fruit or seeds.

Word family

• hulled

hull² ship

Etymology

It is of uncertain origin.^[1] It is usually said to be the same word as hull, a husk, from a fancied resemblance of a ship to an open peapod;^[2][1] compare Latin carina, keel, originally a nutshell, and French coque, ship's hull, eggshell.^[2] The alternative is Middle English hoole, a ship's keel (about 1440, in the Promptorium Parvulorum), probably from the same source as hold, the interior of a ship,^[1][2][7] or perhaps a noun use of hol, hollow.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The body or frame of a ship, apart from masts, sails and rigging: 1571 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1550s in Etymonline.^[1][6][2]

Semantic evolution

A dismantled vessel, a hulk, is from 1582 and obsolete.^[6] A verb, of a ship, to drift with the wind on its hull alone, is from the mid-16th century,^[8] and to strike a ship in the hull is also recorded.^[8] The body of a flying boat, airship, tank or missile is a later extension.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 1571 – a ship's hull.^[6]
• 1582 – a hulk.^[6]
• mid-16th century – to drift (verb).^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The frame or body of a ship, apart from masts, engines and superstructure.
2. The main body of other large vehicles, such as a tank, airship or missile.

Verb

1. To pierce the hull of a ship.

Word family

• hull-down

Related words

• husk
• hold
• hulk
• hell
• holster

Usage notes

In northern English and Scots dialect, a hull was also a sty or pen for animals.^[6][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)