Etymology

From , , from , ultimately from Latin , from . Cognate with German , Dutch , Icelandish , , Danish , Swedish .

Noun sense of "heart, liver, and lights of an animal" comes from it being plucked out of the carcas after the animal is killed; the sense of "fortitude, boldness" derives from this meanining, originally being a boxing slang denoting a prize-ring, with semantic development from "heart", the symbol of courage, to "fortitude, boldness".

Verb

1. To pull something sharply; to pull something out

   She plucked the phone from her bag and phoned a friend.

2. To gently play a single string, e.g. on a guitar, violin etc.

   Whereas a piano strikes the string, a harpsichord plucks it.

3. To remove feathers from a bird.
4. To rob, fleece, steal forcibly

   The horny highwayman plucked his victims to their underwear, or attractive ones all the way

5. To play a string instrument pizzicato

   Plucking a bow instrument may cause a string to break

6. To pull or twitch sharply

Noun

1. An instance of plucking

   Those tiny birds are hardly worth the tedious pluck

2. The lungs, heart with trachea and often oesophagus removed from slaughtered animals.
3. Guts, nerve, fortitude or persistence.

   He didn't get far with the attempt, but you have to admire his pluck.