punk

(pŭngk)
n.

1. Slang.
   1. A young person, especially a member of a rebellious counterculture group.
   2. An inexperienced young man.
2. Music.
   1. Punk rock.
   2. A punk rocker.
3. 1. Slang. A young man who is the sexual partner of an older man.
   2. Archaic. A prostitute.

[Origin unknown.]

punker punk'er n.

punk² (pŭngk)
n.

1. Dry decayed wood, used as tinder.
2. Any of various substances that smolder when ignited, used to light fireworks.
3. Chinese incense.

adj. Slang

1. Of poor quality; worthless.
2. Weak in spirits or health.

[Probably of eastern Algonquian origin.]

View more Literature & Language videos

noun

A rough, violent person who engages in destructive actions: hoodlum, mug, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, tough. Informal toughie. Slang hood. See attack/defend, crimes.

Origin: 1618

Something like punk has been smoldering in American English for hundreds of years, undergoing drastic changes of meaning from century to century. It began as a bizarre kind of overcooked corn, explained in a 1618 account of certain Indians in Virginia: "Some of them, more thriftye then cleanly, doe burne the coare of the eare to powder, which they call pungnough, mingling that in their meale, but yt never tasted well in bread or broath." Around that time, also, punk was a word for "ashes" in the Delaware Indian language.

A couple of centuries later, punk had become a word for the slow-burning sticks used in kindling fireworks. By 1889 it was a slang term for a cigarette, and by the end of the century punk had a sense "worthless" as in a story by George Ade: "And this crowd up there was purty-y-y punk."

Today's first meaning of punk, a small-time hoodlum, developed in the period between the World Wars. And in the late 1970s punk came to designate bizarre clothing and body decorations associated with loud and aggressive rock music. To the general public, it still has an unpleasant taste.

---

noun
noun, dated

1: Bread; also punk and plaster, bread and butter. (1891 —) .

2: mainly US
a: A passive male homosexual; a tramp's young companion. (1904 —) .

b: A worthless or insignificant person; a hooligan or small-time criminal. (1917 —) .

c: show business A novice; a young circus animal. (1923 —) .


3: Short for 'punk rock(er)'. (1974 —) .
Evening News London's growing army of punks have developed a powerful animosity for teds....For the uninitiated, punks...are the ones who match short, ragged hair with short ragged leather jackets (1977). verb intr.

4: to punk out US To back out or quit.
H. Salisbury The Chimp, unfortunately, has a tendency to 'punk out' when the fighting gets tough (1959).

[From the earlier sense of punk, rotten wood.]

Previous:	punch-board, punch, pump
Next:	punk-ass, punt, punter

For a list of words related to punk, see:

• Names and Relationships - punk: Slang. child
• Behavior or Personality
• Sexuality or Gender
• Excessive, Mad, Insane, or Radical
• Homosexuality - punk: Slang. young male coerced into passive sexual role by older, often heterosexual, male prison inmate; any young, passive male partner of older homosexual
• Prison and Punishment - punk: Slang. male prisoner coerced into sexually passive or submissive homosexual role

---

See words rhyming with "punk."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Punk.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - nybegynder, laban, sludder
adj. - skidt tilpas

Nederlands (Dutch)
punker, nozem, dor hout, verrot, slecht

Français (French)
n. - punk, (US) voyou (péj), blanc-bec
adj. - punk

Deutsch (German)
n. - Punker, Punkrock
adj. - Punk-

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αληταράς, νεαρός αλήτης, βλακείες, ανοησίες, πανκ
adj. - τιποτένιος, του κινήματος πανκ

Italiano (Italian)
punk, punk rock

Português (Portuguese)
n., -
adj. - punk

Русский (Russian)
подонок, панк, никудышный, вздор, тип музыки рок

Español (Spanish)
n. - malo, mocoso, pobre hombre, movimiento o ideología
adj. - del movimiento punk

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - skurk, glop, gröngöling, punk, en skit
adj. - punk-, urusel, vissen, dassig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
生手, 笨蛋, 年轻无赖汉, 男同性恋者, 无用的, 不健康的, 下等的, "庞克"的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 生手, 笨蛋, 年輕無賴漢, 男同性戀者
adj. - 無用的, 不健康的, 下等的, "龐克"的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 풋내기, 애송이
adj. - 빈약한, 보잘 것 없는

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 不良, ちんぴら, 朽ち木
adj. - 低俗な, パンク調の

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مشاكس, مراهق انكليزي مزعج (صفه) عديم القيمه, ما يخص ملبس و تصرفات بعض الشباب الانكليزي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮נער עבריין, פושע, הבלים, עץ רקוב (להצתה), הומוסקסואל סביל (ארה"ב), צעיר חסר-ניסיון (ארה"ב), פנקיסט‬
adj. - ‮חדל-אישים, רקוב, מזופת, חסר-ערך, סוג של מוסיקת רוק עם אפקטים גסים ותוקפניים‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.