Hulk (?), n. [OE. hulke a heavy ship, AS. hulc a light, swift ship; akin to D. hulk a ship of burden, G. holk, OHG. holcho; perh. fr. LL. holcas, Gr. &unr_;, prop., a ship which is towed, fr. &unr_; to draw, drag, tow. Cf. Wolf, Holcad.] 1. The body of a ship or decked vessel of any kind; esp., the body of an old vessel laid by as unfit for service. “Some well-timbered hulk.” Spenser.
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2. A heavy ship of clumsy build. Skeat.
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3. Anything bulky or unwieldly. Shak.
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Shear hulk, an old ship fitted with an apparatus to fix or take out the masts of a ship. -- The hulks, old or dismasted ships, formerly used as prisons. [Eng.] Dickens.
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