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husky1

[huhs-kee]
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adjective, husk·i·er, husk·i·est.
  1. big and strong; burly.
  2. (of the voice) having a semiwhispered vocal tone; somewhat hoarse, as when speaking with a cold or from grief or passion.
  3. like, covered with, or full of husks.
  4. made in a size meant for the larger or heavier than average boy: size 18 husky pants.
  5. for, pertaining to, or wearing clothing in this size: the husky department; husky boys.
noun, plural husk·ies.
  1. a size of garments meant for the larger or heavier than average boy.

Origin of husky1

First recorded in 1545–55; husk + -y1
Related formshusk·i·ly, adverbhusk·i·ness, noun

Synonyms

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1. robust, brawny, strapping. 2. harsh, gruff, rasping, throaty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for huskily

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • "I don't understand how you can be so hard," his mother wailed, huskily.

    Alice Adams

    Booth Tarkington

  • Henry said huskily, for his father's questions embarrassed him strangely.

    Changing Winds

    St. John G. Ervine

  • Strangeways recovered himself with an effort, "No, no," he said huskily.

    Murder Point

    Coningsby Dawson

  • “Mr. Thornton,” she whispered, huskily, and could say no more.

    Dr. Sevier

    George W. Cable

  • "I will keep to my part of the compact, Jessie," he said, huskily.

    Pretty Madcap Dorothy

    Laura Jean Libbey

British Dictionary definitions for huskily

husky1

adjective huskier or huskiest
  1. (of a voice, an utterance, etc) slightly hoarse or rasping
  2. of, like, or containing husks
  3. informal big, strong, and well-built
Derived Formshuskily, adverbhuskiness, noun

Word Origin

C19: probably from husk, from the toughness of a corn husk

husky2

noun plural huskies
  1. a breed of Arctic sled dog with a thick dense coat, pricked ears, and a curled tail
  2. Canadian slang
    1. a member of the Inuit people
    2. the Inuit language

Word Origin

C19: probably based on Eskimo
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for huskily

husky

adj.

"hoarse," c.1722 in reference to a cattle disease (of persons, 1740), from husk on the notion of "dry as a husk." Earlier (1550s) "having husks." Sense of "tough and strong" (like corn husks) is first found 1869, American English. Related: Huskily; huskiness.

husky

n.

"Eskimo dog," 1852, Canadian English, earlier (1830) hoskey "an Eskimo," probably shortened variant of Ehuskemay (1743), itself a variant of Eskimo.

The moment any vessel is noticed steering for these islands [Whalefish Islands], the Esquimaux, or "Huskies,"* as the Danes customarily term them, come off in sufficient numbers to satisfy you that you are near the haunts of uncivilized men, and will afford sufficient information to guide any stranger to his anchorage. *"Husky" is their own term. I recollect the chorus to a song at Kamtchatka was "Husky, Husky." ["Last of the Arctic Voyages," London, 1855]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper