dank
[dangk]
- unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and, often, chilly: a dank cellar.
- Slang. (of marijuana) excellent; high quality: There was plenty of booze and dank weed at the party.
- Slang. (of an Internet meme) passé or clichéd; out of touch; having missed the cultural Zeitgeist.
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- Slang. high-quality marijuana: We were just chilling out and smoking dank together.
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Origin of dank
1350–1400; Middle English probably < Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish dänka, Norwegian dynke “to moisten,” cognate with Old Norse dǫkk “water hole”
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for dank
Contemporary Examples
She suffered no more beatings—just solitary confinement in an underground cell always dark and dank and cockroach-infested.
It was dark, dank, the walls charcoal-colored, the feeling of a cave.
Bodies in mortuaries, bodies in ponds, bodies under houses, and in dank boarding houses.
Next thing he knows, the rebel is waking up in a dank cave centuries later.
‘Sleepy Hollow’ Is TV’s Craziest, Most Over-the-Top New Show ... And You Should Watch ItAmy Zimmerman
October 8, 2013
“It was dark and dank and the children were rarely, if ever, taken outside,” Wright notes.
Historical Examples
At one time it was a universal forest: thick, dark, and dank.
She smiled, put back her hand and brushed the dank hair from his moist brow.
The Shadow of a CrimeHall Caine
Her dress had been rich; it was now torn and damp, and clung in dank folds to her limbs.
A Son of HagarSir Hall Caine
They lay in the dank and chilly dawn as though death had reaped the field.
The Long RollMary Johnston
It was dank and still, dim and solemn within such a forest cavern.
The Long RollMary Johnston
dank
- (esp of cellars, caves, etc) unpleasantly damp and chilly
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Word Origin
C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish dank marshy spot
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for dank
adj.
c.1400, earlier as a verb (early 14c.), now obsolete, meaning "to moisten," used of mists, dews, etc. Perhaps from Scandinavian (cf. Swedish dank "moist place," dänka "to moisten") or German (cf. Middle High German damph, Dutch damp "vapor"). Now largely superseded by damp (adj.). Related: Dankness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper