hull

Meanings

Noun

• The outer covering of a fruit or seed.
• Any covering.
• The body or frame of a vessel, such as a ship or plane.
• The smallest set that possesses a particular property (such as convexity) and contains every point of A; slightly more formally, the intersection of all sets which possess the specified property and of which A is a subset.

Verb

• To remove the outer covering of a fruit or seed.
• To drift; to be carried by the impetus of wind or water on the ship's hull alone, with sails furled.
• To hit (a ship) in the hull with cannon fire etc.

Related

Similar words

• (outer covering of fruit or seed): peel, husk, shell
• (to remove hull of a fruit or seed): peel, husk, shell, shuck
• fuselage
• span

Origin

• From Middle English hul, hulle, holle, from Old English hulu, from Proto-Germanic *hul- (compare Dutch hul,
• German Hülle, Hülse), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel-; or possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kal- (compare Old Irish calad, calath, Latin callus, callum, Old Church Slavonic калити). For the sense development, compare French coque, Ancient Greek φάσηλος.
• From Middle English holle, hoole, of uncertain origin. Possibly a variant and special use of Etymology 1 above, conformed to hull. Alternatively, a variant of Middle English hole, hoole, holle, related to Middle Dutch and Dutch hol. More at hole.