DCHP-1 Online
shack ((n.)) [< Brit.dial. shackety, shackling, etc. rickety, rundown] 
n. a rude dwelling, especially one of wood, usually in a rundown condition.
See also: shanty ((n.)) (def. 3b)
- 1821 (1955) [There is indeed a good deal of cleared land on some of the farms; but miserable log-huts, ill-ploughed fields, shackling barns and unpruned orchards, are to be seen everywhere, disfiguring the face of the country, and showing too accurately the character of those who inhabit it.]
- 1884 The "shack" of my neighbor, the side stable near it,/ And e'en the old shanty that stood on the plain.
- 1958 Not a stable indeed, for stables are rare, but shacks we do have--in Yellowknife.
- 1821 (1955) [There is indeed a good deal of cleared land on some of the farms; but miserable log-huts, ill-ploughed fields, shackling barns and unpruned orchards, are to be seen everywhere, disfiguring the face of the country, and showing too accurately the character of those who inhabit it.]