Nearby Words
noun
1.
pluck; spirit; mettle.
2.
touchwood, tinder, or punk.
Origin:
1530–40; blend of spark1 and obsolete funk spark, touchwood (cognate with Dutch vonk, German Funke)
1530–40; blend of spark1 and obsolete funk spark, touchwood (cognate with Dutch vonk, German Funke)
Related forms
spunk·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Spunk
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Example Sentences
- And the two principal kids-collegians-have sonic spunk and grit.
- Enough to salvage the lives of a few well-connected students who were blessed with spunk and good looks.
- Other features include an attached hood, two zipper pockets and a decorative print detailing for some stylistic spunk.
Collins
World English Dictionary
| spunk (spʌŋk) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | informal courage or spirit |
| 2. | (Brit) a slang word for semen |
| 3. | touchwood or tinder, esp originally made from various spongy types of fungus |
| 4. | informal (Austral), (NZ) a person, esp male, who is sexually attractive |
| [C16 (in the sense: a spark): from Scottish Gaelic spong tinder, sponge, from Latin spongia sponge] | |
| usage The second sense of this word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labelled as such in previous editions of Collins English Dictionary. However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its use | |
| 'spunky | |
| —adj | |
| 'spunkily | |
| —adv | |
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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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
spunk
1536, "a spark," Scottish, from Gaelic spong "tinder, pith, sponge," from L. spongia (see sponge). The sense of "courage, pluck, mettle" is first attested 1773. A similar sense evolution took place in cognate Ir. sponnc "sponge, tinder, spark, courage, spunk." Vulgar slang
EXPANDsense of "seminal fluid" is recorded from c.1888. Spunky "courageous, spirited" is recorded from 1786.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
spunk definition[spəŋk]
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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