pluck

Origin: From , plukken, plockien, from , ploccian, also , from , from , *plukkijaną, of uncertain and disputed origin. Perhaps related to . Cognate with , , , , , , and , , , to pluck, pull. More at pull. An alternative etymology suggests , *plukkijaną may have been borrowed from an assumed , a derivative of Latin pilāre, from hair. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, finds difficulties with this and cites gaps in historical evidence. The noun sense of "heart, liver, and lights of an animal" comes from it being plucked out of the carcass after the animal is killed; the sense of "fortitude, bold. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).