shuck

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
  2. verb remove from the shell
  3. verb remove the shucks from

Etymology

Origin unknown. Possibly a dialectal survival of unrecorded Middle English *schulk(e), *schullok (“small shell”); either from Old English *sċylluc, *sċylloc, diminutive of Old English sċyll (“shell”), or alternatively created in Middle English from Middle English schulle, schelle (“shell, husk, pod”) + -ok, making it equivalent to shell + -ock (diminutive suffix) or shell + -k (diminutive suffix).

In classic literature

Synonyms

chaff, husk, stalk, straw, stubble

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