junk

Junk, rubbish, first meant old rope and is of uncertain origin; junk, the Chinese ship, is from Malay.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /d͡ʒʌŋk/^[4]

junk¹ rubbish

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English junke, jonke, an old cable or rope, a nautical word of uncertain origin.^[1][2][3] It may be the same word as junke, a rush, from Old French jonc, rush, reed, from Latin iuncus (see jonquil), also used of something worthless,^[1][2] but the OED finds no evidence of a connection.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An old cable or rope: 1338, in a document of the Royal Navy;^[1] the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Old rope cut up for fenders and gaskets is from 1666, in Pepys.^[1][5] Salt meat on long voyages, compared to pieces of rope, is from 1762.^[2][3] In American English it was extended to old refuse from ships sold in marine stores (1842),^[1][5] giving junk dealer (1866) and junkman (1872),^[1] and to old or discarded articles of any kind about 1880–84.^[1][2] A narcotic drug, especially heroin, is from 1925,^[2][5] the source of junkie.^[6] Junk jewelry is from 1939, junk mail from 1954, junk food from 1971 and junk bond from 1979.^[1][2] The verb, to cut into lumps, is from 1803, and to throw away as trash from 1908.^[2] The American Heritage note cites junk as an example of generalization of meaning.^[7]

Timeline

• 1338 – old rope.^[1]
• 1666 – rope for fenders.^[1]
• 1762 – salt meat.^[2]
• 1842 – marine refuse.^[1]
• c. 1880 – discarded articles.^[1]
• 1925 – narcotics.^[2]
• 1971 – junk food.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Discarded or worthless articles; rubbish.
2. Cheap or shoddy material; nonsense.
3. (slang) Heroin or other narcotics.
4. Hard salt beef eaten at sea.

Verb

1. (informal) To throw away as useless; to scrap.

Adjective

1. Cheap, shoddy or worthless; of little real value.

Word family

• junkie
• junkyard
• junk food
• junk mail

junk² ship

Etymology

It is borrowed from Portuguese junco or Dutch jonk,^[1][2][3] from Malay jong, ajong, ship, large boat,^[1][2] probably from Javanese jong.^[1][2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Chinese sailing ship: 1613, in Purchas his Pilgrimage;^[1] the 1610s in Etymonline, 1609 in Merriam-Webster.^[2][8] In the 16th century it appeared in English as giunche and iunco.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The SOED dates the word to the mid-16th century.^[9]

Timeline

• 16th century – giunche, iunco.^[2]
• 1613 – junk.^[1]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A flat-bottomed Chinese sailing ship with a high stern and battened sails.

Related words

• junket
• jonquil

Usage notes

In Gloucestershire dialect a junk was a tasty dish, a hash or stew.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)