funk.
Foul or unpleasant smell, especially body odor.
Meaning & usage
Foul or unpleasant smell, especially body odor.
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.
Where this word comes from
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.
To emit an offensive smell; to stink.
To envelop with an offensive smell or smoke.
To perform funk music.
Fuck (the taboo swear word).
Funk this!
Where this word comes from
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.
Touchwood, punk, tinder.
Where this word comes from
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.
Mental depression.
I've been in a funk lately, I fell into a funk, I slipped into a funk, I was stuck in a funk
it helped me get out of a funk
A state of fear or panic, especially cowardly.
One who fears or panics; a coward.
Where this word comes from
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.
To shrink from, or avoid something because of fear.
To frighten; to cause to flinch.
Where this word comes from
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.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.