punk
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /pʌŋk/
rhymes: -ʌŋk
Forms: form: punks
form: punx
Etymology: Uncertain. Possibly from punk (“rotten wood dust used as tinder”), attested since 1678, to anything worthless (attested since 1869) and then to any undesirable person (since 1908). The relatively tame 21st century usage of punk (“prank”, verb) was popularized by the American television show Punk'd (2003).
Senses: examples: text: My lord, she may be a punk; for many of them are neither maid, widow, nor wife.
ref: c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
text: […] And made them fight, like mad or drunk, / For Dame Religion, as for punk...
ref: 1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:
text: Flip [Lady Flippant]. I love, of my life men ſhould deal freely vvith me; there are ſo fevv men vvill deal freely with one— / Sir Sim[on Addlepot]. Are you not a Fireſhip? a Punk, Madam? / Flip. VVell, Sir, I love Raillery. / Sir Sim. Faith and troth I do not railly, I deal freely.
ref: 1671 March (first performance), [William] Wycherley, Love in a Wood, or, St James’s Park. A Comedy, […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1672, →OCLC, Act II, page 22:
text: However, terrible as it may seem to the tall maiden sisters of J.P.'s in Queen Anne houses with walled vegetable gardens, this courtesan, strumpet, harlot, whore, punk, fille de joie, street-walker, this trollop, this trull, this baggage, this hussy, this drab, skit, rig, quean, mopsy, demirep, demimondaine, this wanton, this fornicatress, this doxy, this concubine, this frail sister, this poor Queenie—did actually solicit me, did actually say 'coming home to-night, dearie' and my soul was not blasted enough to call a policeman.
ref: 1936, Anthony Bertram, Like the Phoenix:
glosses: One who engages in sexual intercourse
A female prostitute.
examples: text: The Beaus...
At night make a Punk of him that's first drunk.
ref: 1698, Womens Complaint to Venus:
glosses: One who engages in sexual intercourse
A boy or younger man who engages in sexual intercourse by an older man as a (usually passive) homosexual partner.
synonyms: catamite
gunsel
glosses: One who engages in sexual intercourse
A passive or effeminate homosexual man.
synonyms: bottom
examples: text: They'd pick up youngsters as, well—as their playthings. These kids were called punks.
ref: 1973, Barry Broadfoot, Ten Lost Years, 1929-1939: Memories of Canadians who survived the Depression, page 137:
glosses: One who engages in sexual intercourse
A boy who accompanies a hobo, especially as used for sex.
glosses: One who engages in sexual intercourse
A male homosexual.
qualifier: chiefly African-American Vernacular
examples: text: A punk, if you want it in plain English, is a boy with smooth skin who takes the place of a woman in a jailbird's love life.
ref: 1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Don’t Cry, Ma”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 15:
text: If he is small and weak, he may decide to become a ‘punk’ and allow himself to be raped by the inmate most likely to protect him.
ref: 2001, Joseph T. Hallinan, Going Up the River: Travels in a Prison Nation, page 106:
text: Because he was so weak, Vinny soon became Tony's punk.
glosses: One who engages in sexual intercourse
A man forced or coerced into a homosexual relationship, especially in prison.
synonyms: prison bitch
examples: text: This fellow was just a punk... a nobody.
ref: 1933, Ernest Hemingway, Winner Take Nothing, page 94:
glosses: A worthless person, particularly
glosses: A worthless person
Any person, especially a male comrade.
synonyms: fellow
examples: text: He said the prisoner called them ‘punk’... He admitted that he shouted ‘punk’ to them.
ref: 1908 October 18, New York Times, page 9:
text: There was nothing so special about the gang, punks are punks.
ref: 1963, Thomas Pynchon, :w:V., page 145:
text: I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I've kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
ref: 1971, Harry Julian Fink et al., Dirty Harry, spoken by Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood):
glosses: A worthless person
A petty criminal, especially a juvenile delinquent.
synonyms: trouble-maker
hoodlum
hooligan
examples: text: Do you think a little thing like a scratch would bother me? I'm no punk.
ref: 1950, Hal Ellson, Tomboy, page 12:
text: Taking him home she hemmed him up soon as they stepped in the door. Now Tony was a bad dude in the streets but when it came to his mama, he was a punk. A few cuss words on her part had him spilling everything.
ref: 2006, Kali James, Can U Get Away?, page 17:
glosses: A worthless person
A weak, timid person.
synonyms: sissy
glosses: A worthless person
Synonym of amateur.
synonyms: word: amateur
topics: arts
circus
hobbies
lifestyle
performing-arts
sports
glosses: A worthless person
A young, untrained animal or worker.
examples: text: Who else... would have the nerve to actually begin a song with the line ‘Whatchew gonna do, mama, now that the roast beef's gone...?’ Man, that is true punk; that is so fucked up it's got class up the ass.
ref: 1972 November, L. Bangs, Creem, page 68:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A group of associated musical, artistic and social movements emerging out of the counterculture in the 1970s:
Ellipsis of punk rock, a genre known for short, loud, energetic songs with electric guitars and strong drums and shocking or political lyrics.
examples: text: Thus, punk girls combined elements of female dress (bodysuits, skirts) with punk accessories (bullet belt, emocore shirt) to create a distinctly female punk look that's "as girly" as they get.
ref: 1999, Lauraine Leblanc, Pretty in Punk: Girls' Gender Resistance in a Boys' Subculture, Rutgers University Press, →ISBN, page 157:
text: Dame Vivienne Westwood is a British fashion designer and businesswoman. Largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new-wave fashions into the mainstream, she epitomises haute couture of the modern era.
ref: 2014 July 15, Ann Brooks, Popular Culture: Global Intercultural Perspectives, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 61:
topics: fashion
lifestyle
glosses: A group of associated musical, artistic and social movements emerging out of the counterculture in the 1970s:
The fashion style associated with punk rock, typically involving leather, metal studs and pins, distressed clothing and confrontational slogans.
glosses: A group of associated musical, artistic and social movements emerging out of the counterculture in the 1970s:
The larger nonconformist social movement associated with punk rock and its fans.
examples: text: Some of these genres produce unique and intriguing subculture groups, usually referred to as types of "punks": cyberpunk, teslapunk, atompunk, biopunk, etc.
ref: 2022 June 15, ENC1101 Editorial Board, Composition and Grammar: For HCC by HCC, Accomplishing Innovative Press, →ISBN:
text: Punk stories look at the current dominant socioeconomic paradigm and don't like what they see. They look at the newest gadget or algorithm and see how it can be misused and abused.
ref: 2022 February 3, Rick Dakan, Ryan G. Van Cleave, Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 196:
topics: literature
media
publishing
science-fiction
glosses: A group of associated musical, artistic and social movements emerging out of the counterculture in the 1970s:
Any of the -punk genres, typically involving anachronistic technology and its social impact: dieselpunk, solarpunk, steampunk etc.
examples: text: My girlfriend is a punk and she plays the drums.
text: But I still felt a fraud. I was like all those people who suddenly shaved their heads and said they'd always been punks, they'd been punks before punk was even thought of […]
ref: 1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 22:
glosses: A follower of any of these movements, including:
Ellipsis of punk rocker, a musician known for playing punk rock or a fan of the genre.
glosses: A follower of any of these movements, including:
A person who designs or dresses in punk fashion style.
examples: text: In the daily praxis of punk, vegetarianism and veganism are strategies through which many punks combat corporate capitalism, patriarchy, and environmental collapse.
ref: 2013, Carole Counihan, Penny Van Esterik, Food and Culture: A Reader, Routledge, →ISBN, page 236:
glosses: A follower of any of these movements, including:
A member of the punk social movement; usually anarchist and socially non-conformist although potentially either left-wing or right-wing.
topics: literature
media
publishing
science-fiction
glosses: A follower of any of these movements, including:
A fan of a -punk genre of fiction, or a person who dresses in a style associated with it.