bunk

bunk
{{11}}bunk (1) "sleeping berth," 1758, probably a shortened from bunker, Scottish for "a seat, bench," of uncertain origin, possibly from a Scandinavian source (Cf. O.Swed. bunke "boards used to protect the cargo of a ship").
{{12}}bunk (2) "nonsense," 1900, short for bunkum, phonetic spelling of Buncombe, a county in North Carolina. The usual story of its origin is this: At the close of the protracted Missouri statehood debates, on Feb. 25, 1820, N.C. Representative Felix Walker began what promised to be a "long, dull, irrelevant speech," and he resisted calls to cut it short by saying he was bound to say something that could appear in the newspapers in the home district and prove he was on the job. "I shall not be speaking to the House," he confessed, "but to Buncombe." Bunkum has been Amer.Eng. slang for "nonsense" since 1847.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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Synonyms:
, , (in a bunk),


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bunk — ist der Vorname folgender Personen: Bunk Gardner (* 1933), US amerikanischer Rockmusiker Bunk Johnson (1879–1949), US amerikanischer Kornettist Bunk ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Carsten Bunk (* 1960), deutscher Ruderer Gerard Bunk… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bunk — may refer to:* Bunk (slang), absurd, ridiculous, nonsense, (related to the word debunk) * Bunk (school slang), truancy, to play hookey, to cut or skip class * Bunk bed, a type of bed in which one bed is stacked over another * Bunk Moreland, a… …   Wikipedia

  • bunk — Ⅰ. bunk [1] ► NOUN ▪ a narrow shelf like bed. ► VERB chiefly N. Amer. ▪ sleep in a bunk or improvised bed in shared quarters. ORIGIN of unknown origin; perhaps related to BUNKER(Cf. ↑bunker). Ⅱ …   English terms dictionary

  • bunk — bunk; bunk·ie; de·bunk; de·bunk·er; …   English syllables

  • Bunk — (b[u^][ng]k), n. [Cf. OSw. bunke heap, also boaring, flooring. Cf. {Bunch}.] 1. A wooden case or box, which serves for a seat in the daytime and for a bed at night. [U.S.] [1913 Webster] 2. One of a series of berths or bed places in tiers; as, to …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bunk — Bunk, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Bunked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Bunking}.] To go to bed in a bunk; sometimes with in. [Colloq. U.S.] Bartlett. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bunk — bunk1 [buŋk] n. [prob. < Scand cognate of BENCH] 1. a shelflike bed or berth built into or against a wall, as in a ship 2. Informal any sleeping place; esp., a narrow cot vi. ☆ 1. to sleep in a bunk 2. Informal to use a makeshift sleeping… …   English World dictionary

  • bunk|y — bunk|ie or bunk|y «BUHNG kee», noun, plural bunk|ies. U.S. Informal. a roommate; comrade. ╂[< bunk1] …   Useful english dictionary

  • bunk|ie — or bunk|y «BUHNG kee», noun, plural bunk|ies. U.S. Informal. a roommate; comrade. ╂[< bunk1] …   Useful english dictionary

  • bunk — [n1] nonsense applesauce*, balderdash, baloney*, bilge*, claptrap, eyewash*, flimflam*, garbage*, hogwash*, hooey*, horsefeathers*, jazz*, piffle*, poppycock, rot*, rubbish, tomfoolery*, tommyrot*, trash*, twaddle*; concepts 63,278 Ant. sense… …   New thesaurus

  • bunk|er — bunk|er1 «BUHNG kuhr», noun, adjective, verb. –n. 1. a place or bin for coal, especially on a ship: »The reactor in an atomic ship corresponds to the fuel in the bunkers of an ordinary steamship (New Scientist). 2. a sandy hollow or mound of… …   Useful english dictionary

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