Pluck \Pluck\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plucked; p. pr. & vb. n.
Plucking.] [AS. pluccian; akin to LG. & D. plukken, G.
pfl["u]cken, Icel. plokka, plukka, Dan. plukke, Sw. plocka.
?27.]
1. To pull; to draw.
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Its own nature . . . plucks on its own dissolution.
--Je?. Taylor.
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2. Especially, to pull with sudden force or effort, or to
pull off or out from something, with a twitch; to twitch;
also, to gather, to pick; as, to pluck feathers from a
fowl; to pluck hair or wool from a skin; to pluck grapes.
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I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude.
--Milton.
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E'en children followed, with endearing wile,
And plucked his gown to share the good man's smile.
--Goldsmith.
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3. To strip of, or as of, feathers; as, to pluck a fowl.
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They which pass by the way do pluck her. --Ps.
lxxx.?2.
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4. (Eng. Universities) To reject at an examination for
degrees. --C. Bront['e].
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To pluck away, to pull away, or to separate by pulling; to
tear away.
To pluck down, to pull down; to demolish; to reduce to a
lower state.
to pluck off, to pull or tear off; as, to pluck off the
skin.
to pluck up.
(a) To tear up by the roots or from the foundation; to
eradicate; to exterminate; to destroy; as, to pluck up
a plant; to pluck up a nation. --Jer. xii. 17.
(b) To gather up; to summon; as, to pluck up courage.
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