hull-less

noun

the hollow, lowermost portion of a ship, floating partially submerged and supporting the remainder of the ship.

Aeronautics.

the boatlike fuselage of a flying boat on which the plane lands or takes off.

the cigar-shaped arrangement of girders enclosing the gasbag of a rigid dirigible.

verb (used with object)

to pierce (the hull of a ship), especially below the water line.

verb (used without object)

to drift without power or sails.

Idioms

hull down, (of a ship) sufficiently far away, or below the horizon, that the hull is invisible.

hull up, (of a ship) sufficiently near, or above the horizon, that the hull is visible.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English; special use of hull¹

Related forms

hull-less, adjective

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Hull-less is always a great word to know.

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a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

hull (hʌl)

—n
1.	the main body of a vessel, tank, flying boat, etc
2.	the shell or pod of peas or beans; the outer covering of any fruit or seed; husk
3.	the persistent calyx at the base of a strawberry, raspberry, or similar fruit
4.	the outer casing of a missile, rocket, etc

—vb
5.	to remove the hulls from (fruit or seeds)
6.	(tr) to pierce the hull of (a vessel, tank, etc)

[Old English hulu; related to Old High German helawa, Old English helan to hide]

'huller

—n

'hull-less

—*adj*

hull (hʌl)

—n
1.	the main body of a vessel, tank, flying boat, etc
2.	the shell or pod of peas or beans; the outer covering of any fruit or seed; husk
3.	the persistent calyx at the base of a strawberry, raspberry, or similar fruit
4.	the outer casing of a missile, rocket, etc

—vb
5.	to remove the hulls from (fruit or seeds)
6.	(tr) to pierce the hull of (a vessel, tank, etc)

[Old English hulu; related to Old High German helawa, Old English helan to hide]

'huller

—n

'hull-less

—*adj*

Hull¹ (hʌl)

—n
1.	a city and port in NE England, in Kingston upon Hull unitary authority, East Riding of Yorkshire: fishing, food processing; two universities. Pop: 301 416 (2001). Official name: Kingston upon Hull
2.	a city in SE Canada, in SW Quebec on the River Ottawa: a centre of the timber trade and associated industries. Pop: 66 246 (2001)

Hull² (hʌl)

—n
	Cordell. 1871--1955, US statesman; secretary of state (1933-- 44). He helped to found the U.N.: Nobel peace prize 1945

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

hull

"seed covering," from O.E. hulu, from P.Gmc. *khulus "to cover" (cf. O.H.G. hulla, hulsa). The verb was in M.E.; hulled can mean both "having a particular kind of hull" and "stripped of the hull."

hull

"body of a ship," 1571, perhaps from hull (1) on fancied resemblance of ship keels to open peapods (cf. L. carina "keel of a ship," originally "shell of a nut;" Gk. phaselus "light passenger ship, yacht," lit. "bean pod;" Fr. coque "hull of a ship, shell of a walnut or egg"). Alternative etymology is

from M.E. hoole "ship's keel" (c.1440), from the same source as hold (n.).

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

hull

(hŭl) Pronunciation Key

The dry outer covering of a fruit, seed, or nut; a husk.
The enlarged calyx of a fruit, such as a strawberry, that is usually green and easily detached.

Matching Quote

"From an old ruined fort on Staten Island, I have loved to watch all day some vessel whose name I had read in the morning through the telegraph glass, when she first came upon the coast, and her hull heaved up and glistened in the sun, from the moment when the pilot and most adventurous news-boats met her, past the Hook, and up the narrow channel of the wide bay, till she was boarded by the health officer, and took her station at quarantine, or held on her unquestioned course to the wharves of New York. It was interesting, too, to watch the less adventurous newsman, who made his assault as the vessel swept through the Narrows, defying plague and quarantine law, and, fastening his little cockboat to her huge side, clambered up and disappeared in the cabin. And then I could imagine what momentous news was being imparted by the captain, which no American ear had ever heard, that Asia, Africa, Europe—were all sunk; for which at length he pays the price, and is seen descending the ship's side with his bundle of newspapers,... to dispose of his wares to the highest bidder, and we shall ere long read something startling,—"By the latest arrival,"M"by the good ship—M.""

-Henry David Thoreau

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