Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗A large ship used for transportation; (more generally) a large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre. · A non-functional but floating ship, usually stripped of equipment and rigging, and often put to other uses such as accommodation or storage. · A large structure with a dominating presence. · A big (and possibly clumsy) person.
To reduce (a ship) to a non-functional hulk. · To temporarily house (goods, people, etc.) in such a hulk. · To move (a large, hulking body). · To be a hulk, that is, a large, hulking, and often imposing presence.
From Middle English hulk, hulke, holke (“hut; shed for hogs; type of ship; husk, pod, shell; large, clumsy person; a giant”) (probably reinforced by Middle Dutch hulk, huelc, and Middle Low German hulk, holk, hollek (“freighter, cargo ship, barge”)), from Old English hulc (“light ship; heavy, clumsy ship; cabin, hovel, hut”), from Proto-West Germanic *huluk, *hulik, from Proto-Germanic *hulukaz, *hulikaz (“something hollowed or dug out, cavity”), equivalent to hole/hollow + -ock. Cognate with Old High German holcho (“cargo or transport ship, barge”) (whence Middle High German holche, modern German Holk), Old Norse hólkr (“metal tube, ring”), dialectal Norwegian holk, hylke (“wooden barrel”), Middle English holken (“to dig out, gouge”). Relation to Medieval Latin hulcus (“ship”) is uncertain, as Old English may have borrowed from Latin or vice versa, but the form holcas rather points to borrowing from Ancient Greek ὁλκάς (holkás, “ship being towed; cargo ship, ship used for trading, holcad”) (compare Ancient Greek ἕλκω (hélkō, “to drag”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to draw, pull”)). See more at the Old English entry hulc. The verb is derived from the noun.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentionhulkenm
- Derivation mentionhulkdum
- Derivation mentionhulkgml
- Inherited-form mentionhulcang · light ship; heavy, clumsy ship; cabin, hovel, hut
- Inherited-form mention*hulukgmw-pro
- Inherited-form mention*hulukazgem-pro
- Cognate mentionholchogoh · cargo or transport ship, barge
- Cognate mentionholchegmh
- Cognate mentionHolkde
- Cognate mentionhólkrnon · metal tube, ring
- Cognate mentionholkno
- Cognate mentionholkenenm · to dig out, gouge
- Non-cognate comparisonὁλκάςgrc · ship being towed; cargo ship, ship used for trading, holcad
- Cognate mentionἕλκωgrc · to drag
- Cognate mention*selk-ine-pro · to draw, pull
This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "hulk"
},
"expansion": "Middle English hulk"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "dum",
"3": "hulk"
},
"expansion": "Middle Dutch hulk"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gml",
"3": "hulk"
},
"expansion": "Middle Low German hulk"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "hulc",
"t": "light ship; heavy, clumsy ship; cabin, hovel, hut"
},
"expansion": "Old English hulc (“light ship; heavy, clumsy ship; cabin, hovel, hut”)"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro",
"3": "*huluk"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *huluk"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*hulukaz"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hulukaz"
},
{
"name": "suf",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "hole",
"3": "-ock",
"alt1": "hole/hollow",
"nocat": "1"
},
"expansion": "hole/hollow + -ock"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "goh",
"2": "holcho",
"t": "cargo or transport ship, barge"
},
"expansion": "Old High German holcho (“cargo or transport ship, barge”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "gmh",
"2": "holche"
},
"expansion": "Middle High German holche"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Holk"
},
"expansion": "German Holk"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "non",
"2": "hólkr",
"t": "metal tube, ring"
},
"expansion": "Old Norse hólkr (“metal tube, ring”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "no",
"2": "holk"
},
"expansion": "Norwegian holk"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "enm",
"2": "holken",
"t": "to dig out, gouge"
},
"expansion": "Middle English holken (“to dig out, gouge”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "la-med",
"2": "hulcus",
"t": "ship"
},
"expansion": "Medieval Latin hulcus (“ship”)"
},
{
"name": "ncog",
"args": {
"1": "grc",
"2": "ὁλκάς",
"t": "ship being towed; cargo ship, ship used for trading, holcad"
},
"expansion": "Ancient Greek ὁλκάς (holkás, “ship being towed; cargo ship, ship used for trading, holcad”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "grc",
"2": "ἕλκω",
"t": "to drag"
},
"expansion": "Ancient Greek ἕλκω (hélkō, “to drag”)"
},
{
"name": "sup",
"args": {
"1": "2"
},
"expansion": "²"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ine-pro",
"2": "*selk-",
"t": "to draw, pull"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to draw, pull”)"
},
{
"name": "glossary",
"args": {
"1": "verb"
},
"expansion": "verb"
},
{
"name": "sup",
"args": {
"1": "3"
},
"expansion": "³"
}
],
"links": [
[
"hulk",
"hulk#Middle_English"
],
[
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"hulke#Middle_English"
],
[
"holke",
"holke#Middle_English"
],
[
"hulk",
"hulk#Middle_Dutch"
],
[
"huelc",
"huelc#Middle_Dutch"
],
[
"hulk",
"hulk#Middle_Low_German"
],
[
"holk",
"holk#Middle_Low_German"
],
[
"hollek",
"hollek#Middle_Low_German"
],
[
"hulc",
"hulc#Old_English"
],
[
"*huluk",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/huluk"
],
[
"*hulik",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hulik"
],
[
"*hulukaz",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hulukaz"
],
[
"*hulikaz",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hulikaz"
],
[
"hole/hollow",
"hole#English"
],
[
"-ock",
"-ock#English"
],
[
"holcho",
"holcho#Old_High_German"
],
[
"holche",
"holche#Middle_High_German"
],
[
"Holk",
"Holk#German"
],
[
"hólkr",
"hólkr#Old_Norse"
],
[
"holk",
"holk#Norwegian"
],
[
"hylke",
"hylke#Norwegian"
],
[
"holken",
"holken#Middle_English"
],
[
"hulcus",
"hulcus#Latin"
],
[
"holcas",
"holcas#Latin"
],
[
"ὁλκάς",
"ὁλκάς#Ancient_Greek"
],
[
"holcad",
"holcad"
],
[
"ἕλκω",
"ἕλκω#Ancient_Greek"
],
[
"*selk-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/selk-"
],
[
"hulc",
"hulc#Old_English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
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{
"pos": "noun",
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"A large ship used for transportation; (more generally) a large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre.",
"A non-functional but floating ship, usually stripped of equipment and rigging, and often put to other uses such as accommodation or storage.",
"A large structure with a dominating presence.",
"A big (and possibly clumsy) person."
],
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"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To reduce (a ship) to a non-functional hulk.",
"To temporarily house (goods, people, etc.) in such a hulk.",
"To move (a large, hulking body).",
"To be a hulk, that is, a large, hulking, and often imposing presence."
],
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