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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

3 entries under this word

Hull

Hŭll, n.

noun

n. [A-S. hule, hulu, the hard shell, hull, or crust of a thing, H. Ger. hülle, covering, husk, case, from hüllen, O. H. Ger. & Goth. huljan, to cover, from O. H. Ger. & A-S. hēlan, N. H. Ger. hehlen, to hele, conceal; Ger. hülse, hull, husk, shell, likewise from hēlan, to hele. Cf. HELE.]

Sense 1. The outer covering of any thing, particularly of a nut or of grain; the husk.

Sense 2. (Naut.) The frame or body of a vessel, exclusive of her masts, yards, sails, and rigging. Totten.

Hull down, having the hull, as of a ship, concealed by the convexity of the sea, on account of the distance from the observer.—To lie a-hull (Naut.), to lie as a ship without any sail upon her, and her helm lashed a-lee.—To strike a-hull, to take in the sails in a storm, and lash the helm on the lee-side of a ship.

Hŭll, v. t.

verbtransitive

[imp. & p. p. HULLED; p. pr. & vb. n. HULLING.]

  1. To strip off or separate the hull or hulls of; as, to hull grain.
  2. To pierce the hull of, as a ship with a cannon-ball.

Hŭll, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. To float or drive on the water, like the hull of a ship, without sails. Milton.