funky

(fŭng'kē)
adj., -i·er, -i·est.
Frightened; panicky.


funk·y² (fŭng'kē)
adj., -i·er, -i·est.

1. 1. Having a moldy or musty smell: funky cheese; funky cellars.
   2. Having a strong, offensive, unwashed odor.
2. Music.
   1. Of or relating to music that has an earthy quality reminiscent of the blues.
   2. Combining elements of jazz, blues, and soul and characterized by syncopated rhythm and a heavy, repetitive bass line.
3. Slang. Earthy and uncomplicated; natural: "At the opposite end of Dallas's culinary spectrum is funky regional fare" (Jacqueline Friedrich).
4. Slang.
   1. Characterized by originality and modishness; unconventional: "a bizarre, funky [hotel ] dressed up as a ship, with mock portholes and mirrored ceilings over the beds" (Ann Louise Bardach).
   2. Outlandishly vulgar or eccentric in a humorous or tongue-in-cheek manner; campy: "funky caricatures of sexpot glamour" (Pauline Kael).

[From funk, strong smell, tobacco smoke, perhaps from French dialectal funquer, to give off smoke, from Old French fungier, from Latin fūmigāre. See fumigate.]

funkiness funk'i·ness n.

WORD HISTORY   When asked which words in the English language are the most difficult to define precisely, a lexicographer would surely mention funky. Linguist Geneva Smitherman has tried to capture the meaning of this word in Talkin and Testifyin: The Language of Black America, where she explains that funky means "[related to] the blue notes or blue mood created in jazz, blues, and soul music generally, down-to-earth soulfully expressed sounds; by extension [related to] the real nitty-gritty or fundamental essence of life, soul to the max." The first recorded use of funky is in 1784 in a reference to musty, old, moldy cheese. Funky then developed the sense "smelling strong or bad" and could be used to describe body odor. The application of funky to jazz was explained in 1959 by one F. Newton in Jazz Scene: "Critics are on the search for something a little more like the old, original, passion-laden blues: the trade-name which has been suggested for it is 'funky' (literally: 'smelly,' i.e. symbolizing the return from the upper atmosphere to the physical, down-to-earth reality)."

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adjective

Filled with fear or terror: afraid, aghast, apprehensive, fearful, fearsome, panicky. Regional afeard, ascared. See fear/courage.

Said of something that functions, but in a slightly strange, klugey way. It does the job and would be difficult to change, so its obvious non-optimality is left alone. Often used to describe interfaces. The more bugs something has that nobody has bothered to fix because workarounds are easier, the funkier it is. TECO and UUCP are funky. The Intel i860's exception handling is extraordinarily funky. Most standards acquire funkiness as they age. “The new mailer is installed, but is still somewhat funky; if it bounces your mail for no reason, try resubmitting it.” “This UART is pretty funky. The data ready line is active-high in interrupt mode and active-low in DMA mode.”

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and phunky
1. mod. strange; far out.  I like your funky hat.
2. mod. basic and simple; earthy.  I like to be around funky people.
3. mod. smelly; obnoxious.  This place is really funky. Open some windows.
4. mod. unkempt.  Your hair is sort of funky. Comb it.

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1. funky
   adjective, now only US
   
   1: Having a strong smell, usually unpleasant. (1784 —) .
   J. Baldwin They knew why his hair was nappy, his armpits funky (1962).
   
   2: orig US Of jazz or rock music: earthy, bluesy, with a heavy rhythmical beat. (1954 —) .
   Frendz Brown Sugar and Bitch are Jagger at his foxy, dirty, funky best (1971).
   
   3: orig US Fashionable. (1969 —) .
   Holiday Which? Once across Broadway from Washington Square, you're in East Village, which is where funky New York is now found (1990).
   
   [From funk¹ noun + -y.]
2. funky
   adjective
   
   Frightened, nervous, cowardly. (1837 —) .
   
   [From funk² noun + -y.]

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For a list of words related to funky, see:

• Performance, Airplay, and the Recording Industry - funky: (adj) dirty, down-home, bluesy, or unsophisticated
• Unappealing, Shabby, Messy, Poor, or Clumsy

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See words rhyming with "funky."

Dansk (Danish)
1.
adj. - funky, ukompliceret

2.
adj. - hundeangst, høneangst

Nederlands (Dutch)
in de stijl van funkmuziek, bang, stinkend, onverfijnde, aardse stijl, raar, smakeloos, modieus

Français (French)
1.
adj. - (Mus) funky (jazz), (US) qui pue, (GB) trouillard

2.
adj. - paniqué, terrorisé

Deutsch (German)
1.
adj. - funky

2.
adj. - erschrocken

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - (καθομ.) αλλόκοτος, παράδοξος

Italiano (Italian)
pauroso

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - do estilo do funk (dança), simples

Русский (Russian)
трусливый, подчеркнуто сексуальный, паникующий, вонючий

Español (Spanish)
1.
adj. - (mus.) vibrante

2.
adj. - atemorizado

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - skraj, stinkande (amer.), jordnära, sensuell, funkig (mus.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 惊恐的, 畏缩的

2. 有恶臭的, 稀奇古怪的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
adj. - 有惡臭的, 稀奇古怪的

2.
adj. - 驚恐的, 畏縮的

한국어 (Korean)
1.
adj. - 두려워하는, 벌벌 떨고 있는

2.
adj. - 악취를 풍기는, 촌스러운

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - びくびくの, いやなにおいのする, 素敵な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) جبان , مذعور‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮של פאנק, לא רגיל, מדהים, מדיף ריח עז, של מוסיקת ג'ז או רוק כבדה, לא-מקובל, אופנתי‬
adj. - ‮מבוהל, פחדני‬

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