Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Hulk \Hulk\, n. [OE. hulke a heavy ship, AS. hulc a light, swift
   ship; akin to D. hulk a ship of burden, G. holk, OHG. holcho;
   perh. fr. LL. holcas, Gr. ?, prop., a ship which is towed,
   fr. ? to draw, drag, tow. Cf. {Wolf}, {Holcad}.]
   1. The body of a ship or decked vessel of any kind; esp., the
      body of an old vessel laid by as unfit for service. ``Some
      well-timbered hulk.'' --Spenser.

   2. A heavy ship of clumsy build. --Skeat.

   3. Anything bulky or unwieldly. --Shak.

   {Shear hulk}, an old ship fitted with an apparatus to fix or
      take out the masts of a ship.

   {The hulks}, old or dismasted ships, formerly used as
      prisons. [Eng.] --Dickens.