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punk

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English has two words spelled punk: one of unknown origin, first meaning a prostitute and later a worthless young man and a style of rock music, and an American one meaning rotten wood used as tinder.[1][2][3] The links between them are uncertain.[2][4]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpʌŋk/[5]

punk1 hoodlum; punk rock

Etymology

It is of unknown origin.[1][2][3] Its earliest sense was a prostitute.[6][7] The later “worthless person” sense probably comes from American underworld “punk kid”, a criminal's apprentice, and is from either the prostitute sense or the adjective punk, inferior, from punk rotten wood.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A prostitute: 1596 in the OED, the 1590s in Etymonline,[6][4] about 1575 in MWU.[3]

Semantic evolution

The prostitute sense is now archaic.[2] A young male used as a sexual partner, in tramp and prison slang, is from 1904.[6][8] A worthless fellow, a young hoodlum, is from 1917, originally American,[6][4] and a novice or young animal in show business from 1923.[6] Word Origins notes that the word was applied to many kinds of people before punk rock.[7] Punk rock, loud, fast and aggressive, was named by 1971, after the young-criminal sense,[4][9] and a punk, a fan of punk rock and its fashions, is from 1976.[8]

Timeline

  • 1596 – a prostitute.[6]
  • 1904 – a catamite (slang).[6]
  • 1917 – a young hoodlum.[6][4]
  • 1923 – a novice in show business.[6]
  • 1971 – punk rock.[4]
  • 1976 – a punk-rock fan.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (slang) A worthless or rebellious young person; a petty criminal or hooligan.
  2. Punk rock, or a follower of its music and fashions.
  3. (archaic) A prostitute.

Adjective

  1. Relating to punk rock: a punk band.

punk2 touchwood

Etymology

It is of uncertain origin, perhaps borrowed from Unami ponk (“living ashes; dust, powder”),[9][4] an Algonquian word;[4] Gaelic spong, tinder, has also been suggested.[4] MWU and SOED connect it with spunk, touchwood.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rotten wood used as tinder: the 1680s in Etymonline, 1687 in American English in Barnhart, 1705 in the OED.[4][9][6]

Semantic evolution

Bartlett called it a common word in New England, the northern states and Canada.[4] A slow-burning preparation used to light fireworks is from 1869, as is the figurative something worthless, nonsense;[9][6] incense sticks are from 1870.[4] The adjective, poor or inferior, is American, from 1896.[4][8]

Timeline

  • 1680s – rotten wood used as tinder.[4]
  • 1869 – a slow-burning fuse; nonsense.[9][6]
  • 1896 – inferior (adjective).[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Dry, rotten wood used as tinder; touchwood.
  2. A substance that smoulders when lit, used to light fireworks.

Adjective

  1. (US slang) Poor in quality; worthless.
  • spunk

References

  1. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
  9. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology