Punk
I was taught by my English Lit professor, whilst studying Chaucer and Shakespeare that the old definition of the word “punk” was “Prostitute”. Is this true? The only references I can find will only give me stuff related to The Sex Pistols & co. Any help? Thanks!
AC (unregistered)
February 1, 2005, 6:51pm
This is even better:
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?dat...
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chertiozhnik
February 19, 2005, 4:00pm
The word occurs 4 times in 3 plays (see http://www.opensourceshakespeare.com/concordance/) and does evidently mean prostitute.
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AC (unregistered)
January 23, 2005, 10:23pm
According to Merriam-Webster it is true:
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dict...
this is what it says:
Main Entry: 1punk
Pronunciation: 'p&[ng]k
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
1 archaic : PROSTITUTE
2 [probably partly from 3punk] : NONSENSE, FOOLISHNESS
3 a : a young inexperienced person : BEGINNER, NOVICE; especially : a young man b : a usually petty gangster, hoodlum, or ruffian c : a youth used as a homosexual partner
4 a : PUNK ROCK b : a punk rock musician c : one who affects punk styles
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