husk

/həsk/

/həsk/

Other forms: husks; husking; husked

A husk is the fibrous covering of a seed or a fruit that's usually removed before you eat it. To make white rice, the husk is removed from the plant, leaving behind a smooth grain.

When you hear the word husk, you may think of the thick leaves that cover an ear of corn. Any vegetable, legume, seed, or fruit with a protective covering has a husk, which is also called a hull or chaff. You can use this word as a verb, too: "Are you going to husk all that corn by yourself? It's almost time for dinner!" Some etymologists trace this word back to the Dutch huuskyn, "little house."

Definitions of husk

1. noun

   material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
   synonyms: chaff, shuck, stalk, straw, stubble

   types:

   bran

   broken husks of the seeds of cereal grains that are separated from the flour by sifting

   type of:

   plant material, plant substance

   material derived from plants
2. noun

   outer membranous covering of some fruits or seeds
   types:

   cornhusk

   the husk of an ear of corn

   hull

   dry outer covering of a fruit or seed or nut

   cod, pod, seedcase

   the vessel that contains the seeds of a plant (not the seeds themselves)

   bract

   a modified leaf or leaflike part just below and protecting an inflorescence

   shell

   the hard usually fibrous outer layer of some fruits especially nuts

   calycle, calyculus, epicalyx, false calyx

   a group of bracts simulating a calyx as in a carnation or hibiscus

   pea pod, peasecod

   husk of a pea; edible in some garden peas

   bracteole, bractlet

   a small bract

   spathe

   a conspicuous bract surrounding or subtending a spadix or other inflorescence

   involucre

   a highly conspicuous bract or bract pair or ring of bracts at the base of an inflorescence

   glume

   small dry membranous bract found in inflorescences of Gramineae and Cyperaceae

   type of:

   case, sheath

   an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part
3. verb

   remove the husks from
   “husk corn”

   synonyms: shell

   type of:

   remove, take, take away, withdraw

   remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract