Plunk
/plʌŋk/noun
To make a dull, heavy sound, or to drop something with a heavy thud.
Did you know?Plunk is an expressive sound-symbolic word, and its hard, blunt shape helped English speakers turn an actual noise into a verb for dropping or striking something heavily.
Etymological Timeline
Early Modern English
English
plunk
“An imitative word for a heavy, dull sound or a heavy drop”
19th Century
English
plunk
“To drop or place something heavily; to make a plunking sound”
Middle English
English
plonke / plunken
“Expressive sound-words for a dull impact or plop-like noise”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰel- / *pl-
“No secure direct root is established; the word is generally treated as expressive or sound-symbolic rather than inherited from a single ancient root”