I. ˈhəsk noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English husk, huske, probably modification of Middle Dutch huuskijn, huusken small house, small cover, from huus house, cover + -kijn, -ken -kin; akin to Old English hūs house — more at house
1.
a. : the outer covering of a kernel or seed especially when dry and membranous : the chaff of grain : hull , pod ; specifically : carob 1b
with the husks that the swine did eat — Lk 15:16 (Authorized Version)
b. : one of the leaves enveloping an ear of corn : bract
corn roasted in the husks
2.
a. : something that resembles a husk : an outer layer or empty framework : shell
much of the remote past is conserved in the husk of convention — Norman Lewis
the wind … blew through that eerie husk of a room — Edita Morris
b. slang : guy , fellow
you're some husk — Sinclair Lewis
c. : a classic drop ornament made of whorls of conventionalized foliage usually in diminishing series and used especially in an 18th century style of furniture introduced by Robert Adam
3.
a. : the outer skin or shell of an animal
the sea floor is littered with the discarded husks of small crustaceans
b. : a supporting framework: as
(1) : the decorative covering around the holder that supports the socket and bulb of an electric lamp
(2) : a frame supporting the arbor of a large circular saw
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to remove the outer skin or covering of : peel , strip
husk rice
husk corn
husk a coconut
would husk it of its religious and political bias — S.E.Hyman
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from obsolete husk, v., to have a dry cough, of imitative origin
1. : hoose
an outbreak of husk was observed in a flock of 200 sheep — Veterinary Bulletin
2. : huskiness
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to become husky
tried to keep his voice from husking with emotion
transitive verb
: to utter in a husky voice
the sultry singer in the cabaret husks out the latest ballad