shuck

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ʃʌk/ (Northern England, Ireland) IPA(key): /ʃʊk/ Rhymes: -ʌk Homophone: shook (without the foot-strut split) === Etymology 1 === 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). ==== Alternative forms ==== shock (dialectal) ==== Noun ==== shuck (plural shucks) The shell or husk, especially of grains (e.g. corn/maize) or nuts (e.g. walnuts). (slang, African-American Vernacular) A fraud; a scam. (slang) A phony. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== shuck (third-person singular simple present shucks, present participle shucking, simple past and past participle shucked) (transitive) To remove the shuck from (walnuts, oysters, etc.). (transitive) To remove (any outer covering). (computing, slang, transitive) To remove (an external hard drive or solid-state drive) from its casing so that it can be used inside another device. (transitive, intransitive, slang) To fool; to hoax. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From a dialectal variant of shock. ==== Verb ==== shuck (third-person singular simple present shucks, present participle shucking, simple past and past participle shucked) (dialectal) To shake; shiver. (dialectal) To slither or slip, move about, wriggle. (dialectal) To do hurriedly or in a restless way. (dialectal) To avoid; baffle, outwit, shirk. (dialectal, of a horse) To walk at a slow trot. ===== Derived terms ===== shuckish shucky === Etymology 3 === Possibly from Middle English shucke, schucke (“demon, monster”), from Old English sċucca (“an evil spirit”). ==== Noun ==== shuck (plural shucks) (European folklore) A supernatural and generally malevolent black dog in English folklore. Synonyms: padfoot, shriker === References === Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “shuck”, in Online Etymology Dictionary. “shuck”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. “shuck off”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. === Anagrams === Hucks, hucks