hulk

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• /hʌlk/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -ʌlk
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• homophone: hulk
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• General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /hʌlk/
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• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Northern-England: /hʊlk/
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• CMU ARPABET: HH AH1 L K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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The name of a character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the Marvel Comics universe, it has since entered the everyday English lexicon. The name itself is most likely derived from the word hulk (“large person or thing”), which predates the character. See the Wikipedia link at the bottom.

From Middle English hulk, hulke, holke (“hut; shed for hogs; type of ship; husk, pod, shell; large, clumsy person; a giant”) (probably reinforced by Middle Dutch hulk, huelc, and Middle Low German hulk, holk, hollek (“freighter, cargo ship, barge”)), from Old English hulc (“light ship; heavy, clumsy ship; cabin, hovel, hut”), from Proto-West Germanic *huluk, *hulik, from Proto-Germanic *hulukaz, *hulikaz (“something hollowed or dug out, cavity”), equivalent to hole/hollow + -ock. Cognate with Old High German holcho (“cargo or transport ship, barge”) (whence Middle High German holche, modern German Holk), Old Norse hólkr (“metal tube, ring”), dialectal Norwegian holk, hylke (“wooden barrel”), Middle English holken (“to dig out, gouge”). Relation to Medieval Latin hulcus (“ship”) is uncertain, as Old English may have borrowed from Latin or vice versa, but the form holcas rather points to borrowing from Ancient Greek ὁλκάς (holkás, “ship being towed; cargo ship, ship used for trading, holcad”) (compare Ancient Greek ἕλκω (hélkō, “to drag”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to draw, pull”)). See more at the Old English entry hulc. The verb is derived from the noun.

A variant of holk (“to dig out, hollow out, make hollow; to dig up, excavate; to dig into, investigate”), from Middle English holken (“to dig out, hollow out; to dig up, excavate”) (compare holk (“a hollow; body cavity”)), perhaps from Middle Low German hȫlken (“to hollow out, gouge”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hulaz (“hollow”, adjective); further etymology uncertain, perhaps either from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”), or *ḱewh1- (“to swell; to be strong”). Compare also Old English āhlocian (“to dig out”).

46 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Greek: Χαλκ — fictional character
• Hindi: हल्क (halk) — fictional character
• Portuguese: Hulk — fictional character
• Russian: Халк (Xalk) — fictional character
• Spanish: Hulk — fictional character
• Swedish: Hulken — fictional character
• Ukrainian: Галк (Halk) — fictional character
• Dutch: bakbeest — large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre
• Dutch: joekel — large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre
• German: Hulk — large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre
• German: Holk — large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre
• Macedonian: те́жок брод (téžok brod) — large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre
• Swedish: holk — large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre
• Czech: hulk — non-functional but floating ship
• Dutch: scheepsromp — non-functional but floating ship
• French: épave — non-functional but floating ship
• Galician: casco — non-functional but floating ship
• German: Hulk — non-functional but floating ship
• German: Holk — non-functional but floating ship
• Norman: frême — non-functional but floating ship
• Russian: блокшив (blokšiv) — non-functional but floating ship
• Swedish: holk — non-functional but floating ship
• Basque: gizonkote — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• Dutch: vleesklomp — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• French: lourdaud — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• French: rustre — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• German: Bulle — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• German: Riese — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• German: Hüne — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• Italian: omaccione — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• Macedonian: ме́чка (méčka) — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• Portuguese: matulão — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• Spanish: socotroco — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• Spanish: zocotroco — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• Swedish: kluns — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• Swedish: klumpeduns — big (and possibly clumsy) person
• Dutch: kolos — excessively muscled person
• German: Kraftmensch — excessively muscled person
• German: Kraftpaket — excessively muscled person
• German: Kraftprotz — excessively muscled person
• German: Muskelmann — excessively muscled person
• German: Muskelpaket — excessively muscled person
• German: Muskelprotz — excessively muscled person
• Hungarian: izompacsirta — excessively muscled person
• Russian: качок (kačok) — excessively muscled person
• Russian: амба́л (ambál) — excessively muscled person