spunk

spʌŋk

3 definitions

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#1·5h ago

(countable, obsolete) A spark.

1829, Society for Relief of the Destitute Sick (Edinburgh), Report, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=R0QbAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA7 p. 7]:

Origin: 1530, . spark, touchwood is from , spark, from , from , from , from , and is akin to , spark, , , spark,. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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#2·5h ago

(uncountable) Touchwood; tinder.

: At present, her only means of procuring subsistence for herself and children, is by making spunks or matches, which, either she or her eldest child, a girl about six years of age, sells from door to door.

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#3·5h ago

(uncountable) Courage; spirit; mettle; determination.

: ... the old sulphur match was intended, not to produce fire, but to convey fire from the tinder to the candle... The vernacular name for sulphur matches was "spunks", and even in some of the country districts of Scotland the name has d…

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