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Funk
Definitions
- 1 Foul or unpleasant smell, especially body odor. countable
"The foulest stench is in the air; the funk of 40,000 years and grizzly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom."
- 2 Touchwood, punk, tinder. obsolete
- 3 Mental depression. countable
"I've been in a funk lately, I fell into a funk, I slipped into a funk, I was stuck in a funk"
- 4 an earthy type of jazz combining it with blues and soul; has a heavy bass line that accentuates the first beat in the bar wordnet
- 5 A style of music derived from 1960s soul music, with elements of rock and other styles, characterized by a prominent bass guitar, dance-friendly sound, a strong emphasis on the downbeat, and much syncopation. uncountable
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- 6 A state of fear or panic, especially cowardly. uncountable
"[The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk […]"
- 7 a state of nervous depression wordnet
- 8 One who fears or panics; a coward. countable
"It is the long probation in the old way of teaching that fellows funk at or makes funks of them and their slow pace, almost up to the end of that probation, all who teach themselves are in a worse predicament as the hands with them are made the principle propellors instead of the feet."
- 1 To emit an offensive smell; to stink. intransitive
- 2 To shrink from, or avoid something because of fear. ambitransitive
"He'll have funked it, when he comes to the edge, and sees nothing but mist below"
- 3 draw back, as with fear or pain wordnet
- 4 To envelop with an offensive smell or smoke. transitive
"He funks Basketia and her son to death"
- 5 To frighten; to cause to flinch. transitive
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- 6 To perform funk music. intransitive
"From the earliest part of this decade when he funked in relative obscurity to his days as a superstar with the release of his Batman soundtrack last summer, I could almost always count on Prince."
- 7 Fuck (the taboo swear word). euphemistic, slang
"Funk this!"
Etymology
1620, from French dialectal (Norman) funquer, funquier (“to smoke, reek”), from Old Northern French fungier (“to smoke”), from Vulgar Latin fūmicāre, alteration of Latin fūmigāre (“to smoke, fumigate”). Related to French dialect funkière (“smoke”). More at fumigate.
1620, from French dialectal (Norman) funquer, funquier (“to smoke, reek”), from Old Northern French fungier (“to smoke”), from Vulgar Latin fūmicāre, alteration of Latin fūmigāre (“to smoke, fumigate”). Related to French dialect funkière (“smoke”). More at fumigate.
From Middle English funke, fonke (“spark”), from Old English *funca (“spark”), from Proto-Germanic *funkô (“spark”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peng- (“to shine”). Cognate with Middle Low German funke, fanke (“spark”), Middle Dutch vonke (“spark”), Old High German funcho, funko (“spark”), German Funke (“spark”). See also spunk.
1743, Scottish and Northern English dialectal word, originally a verb meaning “to panic, fail due to panic”. Perhaps from or cognate with obsolete Dutch fonck (“distress, agitation”), from Middle Dutch fonck (“perturbation, agitation”). More at flunk.
1743, Scottish and Northern English dialectal word, originally a verb meaning “to panic, fail due to panic”. Perhaps from or cognate with obsolete Dutch fonck (“distress, agitation”), from Middle Dutch fonck (“perturbation, agitation”). More at flunk.
See also for "funk"
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