Husky

   A man called husky is being compared to a dog, and a sled dog at that. But because this dog, stocky and muscular, symbolizes great strength, an informal sense has evolved for husky, meaning big and burly. Harriet Beecher Stowe used that designation for a stocky and muscular man in a story published in 1869. Describing a man as husky is not meant to be disparaging.

   But to return to the sled dog: It is a breed developed in Siberia. Experts believe that the name derives from that of the Eskimo group Chukchi. This dog is so strong that it is capable of pulling a load for sixty miles in one day. Although not related to the wolf family, the Husky howls like a wolf, eats raw fish, and sleeps on snow. North Canadian Indians called this dog uskimi, which meant Eskimo, The explorers thought they were hearing "huskemaus," but they called the dogs Eski, a shortening of Eskimo. Eventually they corrupted the contraction Eski by fronting it with an h, and from it Husky emerged—and stayed. A husky throat is a dry one, characterized by a voice that has lost its timbre. Unrelated is the activity of husking corn.