punkie

English

WOTD – 8 June 2022

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpʌŋki/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Homophone: punky
Rhymes: -ʌŋki
Hyphenation: punk‧ie

Etymology 1

From Jersey Dutch *punkje + English -ie (diminutive suffix). *Punkje is derived from Delaware Munsee *pónkwes + Dutch -je (diminutive suffix); and *pónkwes from Proto-Algonquian *penkw- (“ashes; dust”) (whence Unami punkw (“dust”); probably referring to the insects’ small size)^[1]^[2] + *-ehs- (diminutive suffix).^[3] Compare the name of the Pennsylvania, USA, borough Punxsutawney (from Unami punkwës utènay (“sandfly town”)).

Noun

punkie (plural punkies)

(chiefly New England) A small two-winged fly or midge of the family Ceratopogonidae, which bites and then sucks the blood of mammals; a biting midge or sandfly.
Synonyms: noseeum, no-see-um, sandflea

Alternative forms

punkey
punky

Translations

small two-winged fly or midge of the family Ceratopogonidae — see biting midge

Etymology 2

Possibly an alteration of pumpkin (“plant of the species Cucurbita pepo; round orange or yellow fruit of this plant; (archaic) any type of edible gourd”) +‎ -ie (diminutive suffix).^[4]

Noun

punkie (plural punkies)

(South West England, chiefly Somerset) In full punkie lantern: a lantern similar to a jack-o'-lantern consisting of a gourd such as a pumpkin or a root vegetable such as a mangelwurzel or swede which has been hollowed out, in which a candle has been placed; these are chiefly displayed during Punkie Night in late October.

Alternative forms

punky

Derived terms

Punkie Night

Translations

lantern similar to a jack-o’-lantern

Etymology 3

Possibly an alteration of the first two syllables of pumpkinseed (“the North American sunfish Lepomis gibbosus”) +‎ -ie (diminutive suffix).

Noun

punkie (plural punkies)

(US) Synonym of pumpkinseed (“a North American sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus”).
- 1949 October–November, John R. Greeley, “Sunfishes”, in P. W. Fosburgh, editor, New York State Conservationist, volume 4, number 2, Albany, N.Y.: State of New York Conservation Department, →OCLC, page 14, column 2:
  But, although anything but a wary fish, the sunfish is not easy to catch because of its small mouth. Unless a small hook is used, meager results are secured in proportion to the antics of the cork or bobber, which in good "punkie" territory is likely to jiggle, stand on end and depart bottomward on short notice.

Translations

Lepomis gibbosus — see pumpkinseed

References

^ “punkw”, in Lenape Talking Dictionary‎^[1], 2002–present, archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
^ Robert K. Barnhart and Sol Steinmetz, editors (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology, New York, N.Y.: H[alsey] W[illiam] Wilson Company, →ISBN, page 864: “Probably borrowed from Algonquian (Delaware) ponk, literally, living ashes.”
^ “punkie, n.¹”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2020; “punkie¹, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
^ Compare “punkie, n.²”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2020; “punkie², n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Alternative forms

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

Alternative forms

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 3

Noun

Translations

References

Further reading