Etymology 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.
1
Foul or unpleasant smell, especially body odor.
The foulest stench is in the air; the funk of 40,000 years and grisly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom.1982, “Thriller”, in Rod Temperton (lyrics), Quincy Jones (music), Thriller, performed by Michael Jackson (featuring Vincent Price), Epic Records:
2
Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music 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.
Etymology 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.
1
To emit an offensive smell; to stink.
2
To envelop with an offensive smell or smoke.
He funks Basketia and her son to deathc. 1709, William King, The Furmentary:
Funking a cobbler – that is, blowing smoke into his stall; smoking cigars at divans and club houses; […]2012, M. C. Beaton, Diana the Huntress:
3
To perform funk music.
From the earliest part of this decade when he funked in relative obscurity to his days as a superstar with the release of his Batman soundtrack last summer, I could almost always count on Prince.1989 December 17, Christopher Wittke, “On The Edge In The '80s”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 23, page 9:
Snow bunny, I pledge to funk you baby / You sexy lady, my only temptation […] Oh, I just want to funk you2017, Bootsy Collins, “Snow Bunny”, in World Wide Funk:
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Look, glittery tacos have their place. A date, business lunch, night out with besties, etc. But otherwise, paying almost 20 bucks for pizzazz between a few tortillas in Huntsville, funk that.2023 November 25, Matt Wake, “Five meals under $10 that I love from local Huntsville restaurants (and you will, too!)”, in The Huntsville Times, Huntsville, Ala., →ISSN, →OCLC:
Etymology 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.
Etymology 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.
1
Ambitransitive To shrink from, or avoid something because of fear.
He'll have funked it, when he comes to the edge, and sees nothing but mist below1857, Charles Kingsley, “(please specify the page)”, in Two Years Ago, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC:
It is the long probation in the old way of teaching that fellows funk at or makes funks of them and their slow pace, almost up to the end of that probation, all who teach themselves are in a worse predicament as the hands with them are made the principle propellors instead of the feet.1875, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style:
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"Always wanted a go at the figure. Funked it. Shows what a man can do, given the right model. Dam' good model."1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 56:
Etymology 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.
1
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
2
A state of fear or panic, especially cowardly.
[The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk […]1899 March, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number MI, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part II:
—A woful lunatic, Mulligan said. Were you in a funk?1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 1: Telemachus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part I [Telemachia], page 4:
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Holmes was coming upstairs. Holmes would burst open the door. Holmes would say, “In a funk, eh?” Holmes would get him.1925 May 14, Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, London: Leonard and Virginia Woolf at The Hogarth Press, →OCLC:
1944 (written, first published in 2015), Bob Cooney, Proud Journey As I left the platform, the atmosphere was tense but there was no sign of uneasiness or funk […]
3
One who fears or panics; a coward.
It is the long probation in the old way of teaching that fellows funk at or makes funks of them and their slow pace, almost up to the end of that probation, all who teach themselves are in a worse predicament as the hands with them are made the principle propellors instead of the feet.1875, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style: