funk

¹

[fuhngk]

noun

1. Jazz.,  music having a funky quality.

   Let's set aside our music exercises for now and get down to some real funk.

2. a strong, earthy smell; stench.

   That is some serious funk coming from the compost pile.

3. the state or quality of being funky.

Funk

²

[foongk, fuhngk]

noun

1. Casimir 1884–1967, U.S. biochemist, born in Poland: discovered thiamine, the first vitamin isolated.

funk

³

[fuhngk]

noun

1. cowering fear; state of great fright or terror.

2. a dejected mood.

   He's been in a funk ever since she walked out on him.

verb (used with object)

1. British.,  to shrink from; try to shirk.

   We can only say that the government has funked its responsibility.

verb (used without object)

1. British.,  to shrink or quail in fear.

   He funked at nothing, and could lick every boy in the neighborhood.

funk

¹

/ fʌŋk /

noun

1. slang,  a strong foul odour

funk

²

/ fʌŋk /

noun

1. informal,  a type of polyrhythmic Black dance music with heavy syncopation

Funk

³

/ fʌŋk /

noun

1. Casimir (ˈkæzɪˌmɪə). 1884–1967, US biochemist, born in Poland: studied and named vitamins

funk

⁴

/ fʌŋk /

noun

1. Also called: blue funk. a state of nervousness, fear, or depression (esp in the phrase in a funk )

2. a coward

verb

1. to flinch from (responsibility) through fear

2. (tr; usually passive) to make afraid

Funk

1. Polish-born American biochemist who is credited with the discovery of vitamins. In 1912 he postulated the existence of four organic bases he called vitamines which were necessary for normal health and the prevention of deficiency diseases. He also contributed to the knowledge of the hormones of the pituitary gland and the sex glands.

Other Word Forms

• funker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of funk¹

First recorded in 1615–25; perhaps from North French dialect funquier, funquer “give off smoke,” Old North French fungier, from Vulgar Latin fūmicāre, alteration of Latin fūmigāre fumigate

Origin of funk²

First recorded in 1735–45; originally Oxford University slang; perhaps from early Dutch dialect (in de) fonck “in difficulties;” further origin unknown

Word History and Origins

Origin of funk¹

C17 (in the sense: tobacco smoke): from funk (vb) to smoke (tobacco), probably of French dialect origin; compare Old French funkier to smoke, from Latin fūmigāre

Origin of funk²

C20: back formation from _funky ¹

Origin of funk³

C18: university slang, perhaps related to _funk ²

Example Sentences

However, in this episode Rainbow falls into a funk after losing an important competition and questions the meaning of everything a pony holds dear.

Read more on Literature

Penelope thought she had planned the day from top to bottom, but she had not planned that the children would be in a funk, and so, she realized, her plan must be altered.

Read more on Literature

You could feel it in the interview room afterward, the walls penetrated by the bass of the funk music playing in the adjacent dressing quarters.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It lent a subtle, savory funk — the kind that hums beneath the cheese rather than shouting over it.

Read more on Salon

Despite the burst of high-tech innovation, the economy seems mired in a long-term funk.

Read more on Barron's