Gunk
/ɡʌŋk/noun
Sticky, dirty, or thick unpleasant matter.
Did you know?Unlike words such as mortgage or disaster, gunk doesn’t hide an ancient curse or spell: it’s a 20th-century expressive word, probably born from imitative slang, which makes it a rare case of sound itself becoming meaning.
Etymological Timeline
20th Century
English
gunk
“Slang for sticky, dirty, or useless matter”
Early 20th Century
English
gunk
“A thick, sticky substance; also a clogging or contaminating residue”
20th Century
English
gunk
“Expressive colloquial term, likely formed to suggest something thick, ugly, or clotted”
Unknown
English
gunk
“No secure pre-20th-century etymology is established; the word is generally treated as imitative or expressive”