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spanking

 - 7 dictionary results

spank·ing

   [spang-king]
–adjective
1.
moving rapidly and smartly.
2.
quick and vigorous: a spanking pace.
3.
blowing briskly: a spanking breeze.
4.
Informal. unusually fine, great, large, etc.; remarkable; distinctive: a spanking monogram in gold embroidery.
–adverb
5.
Informal. extremely, strikingly, or remarkably; very: three little girls in spanking new dresses.
Use spanking in a Sentence
Origin:
1660–70; perh. < Scand; cf. Dan, Norw spanke, Sw spånka to strut

—Related forms
spank·ing·ly, adverb

spank

1   [spangk]
–verb (used with object)
1.
to strike (a person, usually a child) with the open hand, a slipper, etc., esp. on the buttocks, as in punishment.
–noun
2.
a blow given in spanking; a smart or resounding slap.
Origin:
1720–30; imit.

spank

2   [spangk]
–verb (used without object)
to move rapidly, smartly, or briskly.
Origin:
1800–10; back formation from spanking
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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World English Dictionary
spanking1 (ˈspæŋkɪŋ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
a series of spanks, esp on the buttocks, usually as a punishment for children

spanking2 (ˈspæŋkɪŋ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—adj
1.  informal outstandingly fine, smart, large, etc
2.  quick and energetic; lively
3.  (esp of a breeze) fresh and brisk
 
[C17: of uncertain origin. Compare Danish spanke to strut]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Word Origin & History

spank
1727, possibly imitative of the sound of spanking. The noun is from 1785.

spanking
1666, "very big or fine," later (especially of horses) "moving at a lively pace" (1738), perhaps from a Scand. source (cf. Dan. spanke "to strut").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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