husk

noun

1. The dry, leafy or stringy exterior of certain vegetables or fruits, which must be removed before eating the meat inside.

   “A coconut has a very thick husk.”

2. (figuratively)Any form of useless, dried up, and subsequently worthless exterior of something.

   “His attorney was a dried-up husk of a man.”

   “Unlike dogs, cats have retractable claws which do not wear down when walking. Instead, cats pull the old husk of nail from their claws by raking them down some convenient piece of wood, to expose a new sharp claw underneath.”

3. The supporting frame of a run of millstones.
4. (uncountable)An infection in cattle caused by a species of Dictyocaulus or lungworm

   “The symptoms of Husk are a constant cough, rapid loss of flesh, difficulty in breathing and, in the later stages, loss of appetite and diarrhœa.”

verb

1. (transitive)To remove husks from.
2. (intransitive)To cough, clear one's throat.

   “Back on the veranda he said to Lace gravely, "I do believe that poor child's in the family way." Lace, tracing the pattern of the matting with his boot, husked, and murmured, "Yes — I think so.”

3. (transitive)To say huskily, to utter in a husky voice.

   “The French captain did not immediately respond; he looked at his men with a miserable expression [...]; still he hesitated, drooped, and finally husked, "Je me rends," with a look still more wretched.”

name

1. A surname.