WikiWord

English

spunk

/spʌŋk/ · noun

Meaning

  1. A spark.
  2. Touchwood; tinder.
  3. Synonym of taper, a thin stick used for transferring flames, especially a sulfur match.
  4. Synonym of match, a thin chemically-treated stick used for creating flames.
  5. Courage; spirit; mettle; determination.
  6. An attractive person; a good-looker.
  7. Semen.
  8. To catch fire; flame up.
  9. To ejaculate.
  10. To waste (money etc.).

Etymology / origin

1530, blend of spark + funk (obsolete, “spark”). Funk (“spark, touchwood”) is from Middle English funke, fonke (“spark”), from Old English *funca (“spark”), from Proto-West Germanic *funkō, from Proto-Germanic *funkô (“spark”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peng- (“to shine”), and is akin to Middle Low German funke, fanke (“spark”), Middle Dutch vonke (“spark”), Old High German funcho, funko (“spark”), German Funke (“spark”).

  1. Funke(German)→
  2. funcho(Old High German)→
  3. vonke(dum)→
  4. funke(gml)→
  5. *(s)peng-(ine-pro)→
  6. *funkô(gem-pro)→
  7. *funkō(gmw-pro)→
  8. *funca(ang)→
  9. funke(Middle English)→
  10. spunk (English)
  11. Relations: der, der, der, der, der, cog, cog, cog, cog

Related words

funke(Middle English)*funca(ang)*funkō(gmw-pro)*funkô(gem-pro)*(s)peng-(ine-pro)funke(gml)vonke(dum)funcho(Old High German)Funke(German)sponc(Irish)

Descendant words

Sources

No citations have been attached yet.