pluck

Meanings

Verb

Noun

Origin

  • , from Proto-Germanic *plukkōną, *plukkijaną, of uncertain and disputed origin. Perhaps related to Old English pullian. Cognate with Saterland Frisian plukje ("to pluck"), Dutch plukken ("to pluck"), Limburgish plógte ("to pluck"), Low German plukken ("to pluck"), German pflücken ("to pluck, pick"), Danish and Norwegian plukke ("to pick"), Swedish plocka ("to pick, pluck, cull"), Icelandic plokka, plukka. More at pull.
  • An alternate etymology suggests Proto-Germanic *plukkōną, *plukkijaną may have been borrowed from an assumed Vulgar Latin *piluccāre, *pilicāre, a derivative of Latin pilāre, from pilus. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, finds difficulties with this and cites gaps in historical evidence.
  • The noun sense of "heart, liver, and lights of an animal" comes from it being plucked out of the carcass after the animal is killed; the sense of "fortitude, boldness" derives from this meaning, originally being a boxing slang denoting a prize-ring, with semantic development from "heart", the symbol of courage, to "fortitude, boldness".

Modern English dictionary

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