conk

Meanings

Noun

• The shelf- or bracket-shaped fruiting body of a bracket fungus (also called a shelf fungus), i.e. a mushroom growing off a tree trunk.
• A nose, especially a large one.
• Alternate spelling of conch
• A hairstyle involving the chemical straightening and styling of kinky hair.

Verb

• To hit, especially on the head.
• To chemically straighten tightly curled hair.
• To fail or show signs of failing, cease operating, break down.
• To become unconscious.

Origin

• Variant or figurative use of conch. Attested since the nineteenth century.
• From congolene, the brand name of a hair-straightening product.
• Origin unknown. Attested since the early twentieth century.