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Webster 1913 Edition

Pluck

Pluck

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Plucked
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Plucking
.]
[AS.
pluccian
; akin to LG. & D.
plukken
, G.
pflücken
, Icel.
plokka
,
plukka
, Dan.
plukke
, Sw.
plocka
. [GREEK]27.]
1.
To pull; to draw.
Its own nature . . .
plucks
on its own dissolution.
Je[GREEK]. Taylor.
2.
Especially, to pull with sudden force or effort, or to pull off or out from something, with a twitch; to twitch; also, to gather, to pick;
as, to
pluck
feathers from a fowl; to
pluck
hair or wool from a skin; to
pluck
grapes.
I come to
pluck
your berries harsh and crude.
Milton.
E’en children followed, with endearing wile,
And
plucked
his gown to share the good man's smile.
Goldsmith.
3.
To strip of, or as of, feathers;
as, to
pluck
a fowl
.
They which pass by the way do
pluck
her.
Ps. lxxx.[GREEK]2.
4.
(Eng. Universities)
To reject at an examination for degrees.
C. Bronté.
To pluck away
,
to pull away, or to separate by pulling; to tear away.
–
To pluck down
,
to pull down; to demolish; to reduce to a lower state.
–
to pluck off
,
to pull or tear off;
as,
to pluck off
the skin
.
–
to pluck up
.
(a)
To tear up by the roots or from the foundation; to eradicate; to exterminate; to destroy;
as,
to pluck up
a plant;
to pluck up
a nation
.
Jer. xii. 17.
(b)
To gather up; to summon;
as,
to pluck up
courage
.

Pluck

,
Verb.
I.
To make a motion of pulling or twitching; – usually with at;
as, to
pluck
at one's gown
.

Pluck

,
Noun.
1.
The act of plucking; a pull; a twitch.
2.
[Prob. so called as being
plucked
out after the animal is killed; or cf. Gael. & Ir.
pluc
a lump, a knot, a bunch.]
The heart, liver, and lights of an animal.
3.
Spirit; courage; indomitable resolution; fortitude.
Decay of English spirit, decay of manly
pluck
.
Thackeray.
4.
The act of plucking, or the state of being plucked, at college. See
Pluck
,
Verb.
T.
, 4.
5.
(Zool.)
The lyrie.
[Prov. Eng.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Pluck

PLUCK

, v.t.
1.
To pull with sudden force or effort, or to pull off, out or from, with a twitch. Thus we say, to pluck feathers from a fowl; to pluck hair or wool from a skin; to pluck grapes or other fruit.
They pluck the fatherless from the breast. Job.24.
2.
To strip by plucking; as, to pluck a fowl.
They that pass by do pluck her. Ps.80.
The sense of this verb is modified by particles.
To pluck away, to pull away, or to separate by pulling; to tear away.
He shall pluck away his crop with his feathers. Lev.1.
To pluck down, to pull down; to demolish; or to reduce to a lower state.
To pluck off, is to pull or tear off; as, to pluck off the skin. Mic.3.
To pluck on, to pull or draw on.
pluck up, to tear up by the roots or from the foundation; to eradicate; to exterminate; to destroy; as, to pluck up a plant; to pluck up a nation. Jer.12.
To pluck out, to draw out suddenly or to tear out; as, to pluck out the eyes; to pluck out the hand from the bosom. Ps.74.
To pluck up, to resume courage; properly, to pluck up the heart. [Not elegant.]

PLUCK

,
Noun.
The heart, liver and lights of an animal.

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