Pluck

Pluck

Verb & Noun · /plʌk/ · to pull sharply; informal courage and determination

Definition

To pluck is to pull something quickly and firmly — you pluck a guitar string, pluck a chicken, pluck a flower from a stem, or pluck up the courage to do something difficult. As a noun, pluck means bold courage in the face of difficulty — a quality admired in British culture. To say someone has pluck is a warm compliment.

Origin

From Old English pluccian and Old Norse plokka — both meaning to pull or tear off. The noun sense of courage comes from 18th-century slang, originally referring to the heart and lungs of an animal (the pluck) as the seat of courage. By the 19th century, pluck as courage was fully standard in British English and became a defining quality in Victorian heroes.