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bunkum

Etymology and origin of the English word bunkum

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbʌŋkəm/[1]

Etymology

It is named after Buncombe County, North Carolina,[2][3][4][5][6] from a remark by its congressman Felix Walker,[3][5] who excused a long and irrelevant speech in the House around 1820 by saying he was speaking “for Buncombe”.[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the phrase to talk for (or to) Buncombe, to speechify for show (1828 in Barnhart; 1820s in Wiktionary).[3][1]

Semantic evolution

At first the word meant insincere speechmaking by a politician meant only to please the voters back home.[5][1] It then widened to any empty or foolish talk.[2][4][5] As a noun on its own it is recorded from 1845 (Merriam-Webster) or 1847 (Barnhart).[4][3] It was later shortened to bunk “nonsense”, from which comes debunk.[1][6]

Timeline

  • 1819–21 – Felix Walker's speech in the 16th Congress.[5]
  • 1828 – talk for Buncombe.[3]
  • 1845 – noun, nonsense.[4]
  • 1847 – bunkum.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Empty, insincere or foolish talk; nonsense.
  2. Insincere speechmaking by a politician meant only to please constituents.

Word family

  • bunk
  • debunk
  • buncombe
  • claptrap

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Bunkum.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/bunkum. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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