punkie

Meaning

Noun

• A small two-winged fly or midge of the family Ceratopogonidae, which bites and then sucks the blood of mammals; a biting midge or sandfly.
• In full punkie lantern: a lantern similar to a jack-o'-lantern consisting of a gourd such as a pumpkin or a root vegetable such as a mangelwurzel or swede which has been hollowed out, in which a candle has been placed; these are chiefly displayed during Punkie Night in late October.
• Synonym of pumpkinseed (“a North American sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus (species)”).

Origin

• . *Punkje is derived from Delaware Munsee *pónkwes + Dutch -je; and *pónkwes from Proto-Algonquian *penkw- (whence Unami punkw; probably referring to the insects’ small size) + *-ehs-. Compare the name of the Pennsylvania, USA, borough Punxsutawney (from Unami punkwës utènay).