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hulk

(hŭlk)

1. Nautical

a. A heavy, unwieldy ship.

b. The hull of an old, unseaworthy, or wrecked ship.

c. often hulks An old or unseaworthy ship used as a prison or warehouse.

2. One, such as a person or object, that is bulky, clumsy, or unwieldy.

3. A wrecked or abandoned shell of a usually large object, such as a building or vehicle.

intr.v. hulked, hulk·ing, hulks

1. To appear as a massive or towering form; loom: The big truck hulked out of the fog.

2. To move clumsily.

[Middle English, from Old English hulc, from Medieval Latin hulcus, probably from Greek holkas, ship that is towed, merchant ship, from holkos, machine for hauling ships, from helkein, to pull.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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