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Definition 2024

punkie

punkie

English

Alternative forms

Noun

punkie ‎(plural punkies)

  1. (US) A small two-winged fly or midge of the family Ceratopogonidae, which bites and then sucks the blood of mammals; the biting midge; sandfly.

References

  1. ↑ Lenape Talking Dictionary, punkw
  2. ↑ Robert K. Barnhart (editor), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology (H. W. Wilson, 1988), page 864: "Probably borrowed from Algonquian (Delaware) ponk, literally, living ashes."

Etymology

Entered English via (New Amsterdam) Dutch; originally from a Munsee word like *pónkwes (the latter part of which is a diminutive suffix), to which the Dutch applied the diminutive suffix -je. Compare Unami punkw ‎(“dust”),[1][2] Punxsutawney (from Unami punkwës utènay, 'sandfly town').

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpʌŋkiː/

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