punkie

English

Alternative forms

punky

Etymology

Entered English via Jersey Dutch; originally from a Munsee word like *pónkwes (the latter part of which is a diminutive suffix), to which the Dutch applied the diminutive suffix -je. Compare Unami punkw (“dust”),^[1]^[2] Punxsutawney (from Unami punkwës utènay, 'sandfly town').

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈpʌŋkiː/
Rhymes: -ʌŋki

Noun

punkie (plural punkies)

(US) A small two-winged fly or midge of the family Ceratopogonidae, which bites and then sucks the blood of mammals; the biting midge; sandfly.

References

↑ Lenape Talking Dictionary, punkw
↑ Robert K. Barnhart (editor), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology (H. W. Wilson, 1988), page 864: "Probably borrowed from Algonquian (Delaware) ponk, literally, living ashes."

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[1] Lenape Talking Dictionary, punkw

[2] Robert K. Barnhart (editor), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology (H. W. Wilson, 1988), page 864: "Probably borrowed from Algonquian (Delaware) ponk, literally, living ashes."