flunk

Pronunciation

• IPA: /flʌŋk/^[1]

Etymology

It is of unknown origin.^[2][3][4] It is traditionally explained as an alteration of British university slang funk “to be frightened, shrink from”,^[3][4] and Merriam-Webster suggests a blend of flinch and funk.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To back out, give up or fail utterly (1823, American college slang).^[3][4][7][5]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline places the slang at Yale.^[4] The sense of failing an examination is from 1848,^[7] and the transitive sense of giving a student a failing mark from 1843.^[4][7] The noun followed in 1846.^[7][4][5]

Timeline

• 1823 – to back out or fail.^[3][4][7][5]
• 1843 – to give a failing mark.^[4][7]
• 1846 – noun, a total failure.^[7][4][5]
• 1848 – to fail an examination, and flunk out.^[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To fail a course or examination.
2. To give a failing grade to a student.
3. (flunk out) To be dismissed from a school or course for failure.

Noun

1. An act of flunking; a failing grade.

Word family

• flunker
• flunkout

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press