From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhuskhusk1 /hʌsk/ noun 1 [countable, uncountable]HBP the dry outer part of corn, some grains, seeds, nuts etc2 [countable] the useless outer part of something that remains after the important or useful part is gone or has been usedhusk of His drug addiction had turned him into a husk of his former self.
Examples from the Corpus
husk• Rinse lentils before use and check for stones and husks.• Winwood's concert showed that he is just an empty husk of what he once was.• In addition, damp conditions encourage husk in cattle and fluke in sheep.• Pick the freshest corn you can; it should look moist with bright green husks.• Only his husk, his shell.• Squeeze garlic out of husk to use.• Mace is the outer husk of the nutmeg and has a strong but fragrant flavour.• Peel and discard rough outside husks of lemongrass stalks, then thinly slice cores that remain.• A Bradshaw board carries locked within its smooth husk the seed of its begetter.huskhusk2 verb [transitive] DFCTAto remove the husks from grains, seeds etc→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
husk• The Little Rann had husked him.• Further along the shore a few beachcombers were bunkered down, husking washed-up coconuts for copra; others collected shellfish.Origin husk1 (1300-1400) Probably from Middle Dutch huuskijn, from huus “house, cover” 