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hulk
hulk.
1. An early (8th–9th century), unwieldy ship of simple construction with a sail, a rounded bow and stern, and without a keel. The remains of one was found downriver from London Bridge and there is an image of one on a 9th-century Anglo-Saxon coin. By the 14th century it had become as large as a cog, and thereafter the two types may have merged into one which became known as a cog. 2. Another name for the hull of a ship, but this use of the word had fallen into disuse by the end of the 18th century. 3. An old ship converted for some use which did not require it to move. Early hulks were used as floating storehouses, as the temporary abode of naval seamen, recruited by impressment, who were awaiting draft to a seagoing ship, and particularly for quarantine purposes. Some were also fitted out for use in stepping or lifting out masts in seagoing ships. Later, particularly in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, they were used as prisons. ‘It was as a means of devising a severe mode of punishment short of death that the Hulks on the Thames were introduced in 1776’ ( Robert Chambers's Book of Days (1864), ii, 67 ). |
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"hulk." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hulk." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-hulk.html "hulk." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-hulk.html |
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hulk
hulk / həlk/ • n. 1. an old ship stripped of fittings and permanently moored, esp. for use as storage or (formerly) as a prison. ∎ any large disused structure: hulks of abandoned machinery. 2. a large or unwieldy boat or other object. ∎ a large, clumsy-looking person: a six-foot hulk of a man. • v. [intr.] appear large or threatening: mile-high cliffs, hulking above wild-rushing glacial streams. ∎ move heavily or clumsily: a single figure hulking across the screen, stopping to kick or stab. |
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Cite this article
"hulk." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hulk." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-hulk.html "hulk." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-hulk.html |
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hulk
hulk
A. ship, esp. large ship of burden OE.; body of a dismantled ship XVII; B. big unwieldy person XVI. Late OE. hulc, prob. reinforced in ME. from MLG. hulk, holk(e), MDu. hulc, -ke (Du. hulk). |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "hulk." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "hulk." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-hulk.html T. F. HOAD. "hulk." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-hulk.html |
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hulk
hulk n. an old ship stripped of fittings and permanently moored, especially for use as storage or (formerly) as a prison.
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Cite this article
"hulk." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hulk." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-hulk.html "hulk." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-hulk.html |
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hulk
hulk
•calque, talc
•catafalque
•elk, whelk
•bilk, ilk, milk, silk
•Liebfraumilch • buttermilk • volk
•bulk, hulk, skulk, sulk
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Cite this article
"hulk." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hulk." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-hulk.html "hulk." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-hulk.html |
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