A Hulk Was a Ship Too Old to Sail
A hulk is a large clumsy person or thing. The word first named a decommissioned ship's hull.
A hulk is a large clumsy person or object, and originally the body of a ship no longer fit for sea. Britain used hulks as floating prisons from 1776, when the American war closed the usual destination for transported convicts. Moored in the Thames and at Portsmouth, they held thousands in appalling conditions for decades, and Dickens opens *Great Expectations* on one. The word is Old English, probably from Greek *holkas*, a towed ship.
- A large clumsy thing. *A great hulk.*
- A disused ship. *A prison hulk.*
- Hulking — large and awkward. *Hulking.*
- A floating prison. *The hulks.*
- Old English — *hulc*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | hulk | A hulk. |
| Plural | hulks | Hulks. |
| Adjective | hulking | Hulking. |
| Verb | hulk | Hulking over. |
| Greek | holkas | A towed ship. |
- The hulk rusted in the harbour.Ship.
- A hulking figure in the doorway.Size.
- Convicts were held on hulks.History.
The prison hulks
- Introduced in 1776 as a temporary measure
- The American war had closed the usual transportation route
- They remained in use for some eighty years
- Conditions were severe, with high rates of disease
- Dickens opens Great Expectations with an escape from one
Old English *hulc*, a light ship, probably from Greek *holkas*, a ship that is towed.
What were prison hulks?
Decommissioned ships moored as floating prisons, used in Britain from 1776 when transportation to America ended.
Why does hulk mean something large and clumsy?
From the image of a stripped ship's hull sitting in harbour, bulky and unable to move.