punk

Meanings

Noun

• A person used for sex, particularly:
• A worthless person, particularly:
• , a genre known for short, loud, energetic songs with electric guitars and strong drums.
• , a musician known for playing punk rock or a fan of the genre.
• The larger nonconformist social movement associated with punk rock and its fans.
• Any material used as tinder for lighting fires, such as agaric, dried wood, or touchwood, but especially wood altered by certain fungi.
• A utensil for lighting wicks or fuses (such as those of fireworks) resembling stick incense.

Adjective

• Worthless, contemptible, particularly
• Of or concerning punk rock or its associated subculture.

Verb

• To pimp.
• To forcibly perform anal sex upon an unwilling partner.
• To prank.
• To give up or concede; to act like a wimp.
• To adapt or embellish in the style of the punk movement.

Related

Similar words

• gunsel
• trouble-maker, hoodlum, hooligan

Origin

• Of uncertain origin. Possibly from the application of the sense punk (attested since 1678) to anything worthless (attested since 1869) and then to any undesirable person (since 1908).
• Unclear; first attested circa 1680 in writings about Native American practices, probably from Unami punkw, though it has also been suggested it could be an alteration of spunk (compare funk).