past tense of pluck; to pull or pick something suddenly and forcefully.
From Old English 'pluccan,' related to Old German 'pflucken.' The origin is possibly imitative—the word sounds like the action it describes.
Words like 'pluck' are onomatopoetic ghosts—they originated as sound-mimicry but we've forgotten that connection, and now 'pluck' also means courage ('he showed pluck'), creating a hidden metaphor linking bravery to the sharp action of pulling something.
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