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Definition of pluck away - 3 dictionary results

pluck

  [pluhk]
Use pluck away in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to pull off or out from the place of growth, as fruit, flowers, feathers, etc.: to pluck feathers from a chicken.
2. to give a pull at; grasp: to pluck someone's sleeve.
3. to pull with sudden force or with a jerk.
4. to pull or move by force (often fol. by away, off, or out).
5. to remove the feathers, hair, etc., from by pulling: to pluck a chicken.
6. Slang. to rob, plunder, or fleece.
7. to sound (the strings of a musical instrument) by pulling at them with the fingers or a plectrum.
–verb (used without object)
8. to pull or tug sharply (often fol. by at).
9. to snatch (often fol. by at).
–noun
10. act of plucking; a tug.
11. the heart, liver, and lungs, esp. of an animal used for food.
12. courage or resolution in the face of difficulties.
—Verb phrase
13. pluck up,
a. to eradicate; uproot.
b. to summon up one's courage; rouse one's spirits: He always plucked up at the approach of danger. She was a stranger in the town, but, plucking up her courage, she soon made friends.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME plukken (v.), OE pluccian, c. MLG plucken; akin to D plukken, G pflücken

Related forms:
plucker, noun

Synonyms:
2. tug. 3. yank, tear, rip. 12. bravery, boldness, determination, mettle, nerve.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
pluck

and plug
  1. n.
    wine; cheap wine. (Originally black.) : He buys pluck by the box, yes the box! , You spilled your plug all over my car seat!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

pluck  (v.)
late O.E. ploccian "pull off, cull," from W.Gmc. *plokken (cf. M.L.G. plucken, M.Du. plocken, Flem. plokken), perhaps from V.L. *piluccare (cf. O.Fr. peluchier, c.1180), a frequentative, ultimately from L. pilare "pull out hair," from pilus "hair." But despite the similarities, OED finds difficulties with this and cites gaps in historical evidence. Noun sense of "courage, boldness" (1785) is originally boxing slang, from meaning "heart, viscera" (1611) as that which is "plucked" from slaughtered livestock. Perhaps infl. by fig. use in pluck up (one's courage, etc.), attested from c.1300. Hence, plucky (1842).
"To pluck a rose, an expression said to be used by women for going to the necessary house, which in the country usually stands in the garden." [F. Grose, "Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1785]
This euphemistic use is attested from 1613.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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