Hulky

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to an entity that has a large, heavy, and sturdy structure
2. Characterized by an imposing size and thick build that suggests strength and heaviness
3. Describes something or someone with a massive and solid body that appears strong and weighty

Etymology: "Hulky" is simply "hulk" with the adjective-forming suffix "-y" added. The noun "hulk" is older and far more vivid: it originally named the body of a ship, especially a large, clumsy vessel, and only later came to mean any huge, unwieldy object or person. Because a hulk was a bulky, heavy thing, the adjective took on the same sense of massive, lumbering solidity. The suffix "-y" is a common English device, inherited from Old English "-ig", that turns nouns into adjectives meaning "having the qualities of" or "full of" the noun, as in "stony" or "bushy". Applied to "hulk," it produced a word describing something that looks like a hulk: broad, heavy, and imposing rather than graceful. That is the sense that remains today, where the word usually describes a large person or a sturdy, awkward object.

Synonyms: bulky, massive, heavy, cumbersome, clumsy

Antonyms: slim, light, graceful, sleek