hull
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hull¹
- /hʌl/
- /hʊl/ Northern England
Sounds like Hull · Rhymes with -ʌl
Where it comes from
From Middle English hul, hulle, holle (“seed covering, hull of a ship”), from Old English hulu (“seed covering”), from Proto-Germanic *hul-, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide”); or possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kal- (“hard”).
Compare Dutch hul (“hood”), German Hülle (“cover, wrap”), Hülse (“hull”); also Old Irish calad, calath (“hard”), Latin callus, callum (“rough skin”), Old Church Slavonic калити (kaliti, “to cool, harden”). For the sense development, compare French coque (“nutshell; ship's hull”), Ancient Greek φάσηλος (phásēlos, “bean pod; yacht”).
hull²
- /hʌl/
- /hʊl/ Northern England
Sounds like Hull · Rhymes with -ʌl
Where it comes from
From Middle English holle, hoole (“hull, hold of a ship, ship”), 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 (“hiding place, lair, den, shelter, compartment”, literally “hole, hollow”), related to Middle Dutch and Dutch hol (“hole, ship's cargo hold”). More at hole.
noun hulls
-
The body or frame of a vessel, such as a ship or plane.
VVhen you haue berthed or brought her [the ship] vp to the planks, vvhich are thoſe thicke timbers vvhich goeth fore and aft on each ſide, vvhereon doth lie the beames of the firſt Orlop, vvhich is the firſt floore to ſupport the plankes doth couer the Hovvle, thoſe are great croſſe timbers, that ke
Similar: fuselage
-
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.
The orthogonal convex hull of an orthogonal polygon is the smallest orthogonally convex polygon that encloses the original polygon.
Similar: affine hull, affine span, span
verb hulls · hulling · hulled
- To drift; to be carried by the impetus of wind or water on the ship's hull alone, with sails furled. We goe not, but we are carried: as things that flote, now gliding gently, now hulling violently, according as the water is, either stormy or calme.
- To hit (a ship) in the hull with cannon fire etc. During this action, we had not a man killed or wounded, although the enemy often hulled us, and once, in particular, a shot coming into one of our ports, dismounted one of our guns between decks […]
Hull³
- /hʌl/
- /hʊl/ Northern England
- /ʊl/ Northern England, nonstandard
Sounds like hull
Where it comes from
The town in England is Inherited from Middle English Hull, Hul, Hulle, traditionally derived from Proto-Brythonic *hʉl, from Proto-Celtic *soulos, from Proto-Indo-European *sew- (“to press”); Breeze instead suggests derivation from hula, plural of hulu (“hut”). Chaucer's Hulle (for expected *Hul, *Hule) is presumably a hypercorrect Southern form.
The surname is either from the English town or Middle English hulle, western variant of hylle (“hill”); many other place names are ultimately from the surname.
proper noun Hulls
- A river in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, which flows into the Humber.
- The common name of Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
- Hull, Quebec: The central business district and oldest neighborhood of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.
- An unincorporated community in DeSoto County, Florida.
- A city in Madison County, Georgia.
- A village in Pike County, Illinois.
- A city in Sioux County, Iowa.
- A coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts.
- An unincorporated community in Emmons County, North Dakota.
- An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Liberty County, Texas.
- An unincorporated community in McDowell County, West Virginia.
- A town in Marathon County, Wisconsin.
- A town in Portage County, Wisconsin.
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: seed, pod, shell, clam, coke, sarcophagus, hat, helmet, coat, shield, nuts, hall, coach, ship, boat, craft
Translations
Every language
noun outer covering of a fruit or seed
| Español | hollejo, vaina |
|---|---|
| Português | casca |
| Français | coque, cosse |
| Deutsch | Hülse, Schale, Schote |
| Ελληνικά | φλοιός floiós, φλούδα floúda |
| Română | coajă, piele, înveliș, păstaie (pod) |
| Русский | шелуха́ šeluxá, скорлупа́ skorlupá, лузга́ luzgá |
verb to remove the hull of a fruit or seed; to peel
| Español | descascarillar |
|---|---|
| Português | descascar |
| Français | écosser, décortiquer |
| Ελληνικά | ξεφλουδίζω xefloudízo, αποφλοιώνω apofloióno |
| Русский | чи́стить čístitʹ, почи́стить počístitʹ, одира́ть odirátʹ, ободра́ть obodrátʹ, лузга́ть luzgátʹ, лущи́ть luščítʹ |
Talk about this word "hull." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hull. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hull. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hull "hull." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hull.Cite this
@misc{hull_2026,
title = {hull},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hull},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
