Shuck
/ʃʌk/noun
A shell, husk, or pod removed from a seed or fruit; also used informally as a verb meaning to remove such coverings.
Did you know?English shuck is first recorded in the 17th century and is probably from a Scandinavian source, related to Old Norse words for a husk or shell, which is why it feels so physically exact.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*skel-
“to split, cut off”
Old Norse
ON
skel
“shell, husk”
Middle English
ME
shucke
“husk, shell”
17th Century
English
shuck
“a husk or shell, especially of corn or oysters”
Modern English
English
shuck
“a husk, shell, or covering; to remove it”