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CONKS

Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 10:42 am
by eberntson
I like this word that mean "To hit, especially in the head." Where does this word come from?

Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 6:08 pm
by Stargzer
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary:
conk
as in conk out, 1918, coined by World War I airmen, perhaps in imitation of the sound of a stalling motor, reinforced by conk (v.) "hit on the head," originally "punch in the nose" (1821), from conk (n.), slang for "nose" (1812), perhaps from fancied resemblance to a conch shell.
However, the American Heritage Dictionary has three different meanings for conk:
conk[sup]1[/sup]

PRONUNCIATION: kŏngk

NOUN: 1a. Slang The head. b. A blow, especially on the head. 2. Chiefly British The human nose.

VERB: Inflected forms: conked, conk·ing, conks

TRANSITIVE VERB: To hit, especially on the head.

INTRANSITIVE VERB: 1. To stop functioning; fail: The engine conked out on the final lap. 2. To fall asleep, especially suddenly or heavily: conked out on the couch watching television. 3. To pass out; faint. 4. To die.

ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown.


conk[sup]2[/sup]

PRONUNCIATION: kŏngk

NOUN: A hard, shelflike, spore-bearing structure of certain wood-decaying fungi, found on stumps, logs, or trees.

ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps alteration of conch.
conk[sup]3[/sup]

PRONUNCIATION: kŏngk

NOUN: A hairstyle in which the hair is straightened, usually by chemical means. Also called process[sup]1[/sup].

TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: conked, conk·ing, conks

To straighten (tightly curled hair) usually by chemical means.

ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps alteration of congolene, substance for straightening hair.

Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 6:48 pm
by KatyBr
see conk shells
Image

Katy

Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 9:42 pm
by Brazilian dude
Isn't that conch?

Brazilian dude

Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 11:55 am
by KatyBr
BD, I googled conk shells and got this image.

Katy

Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 12:13 pm
by Brazilian dude
Google is not a master speller, you know.
Main Entry: conch
Pronunciation: 'kä[ng]k, 'känch, 'ko[ng]k
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural conchs /'kä[ng]ks, 'ko[ng]ks/; or conches /'kän-ch&z/
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin concha mussel, mussel shell, from Greek konchE; akin to Sanskrit sankha conch shell
1 : any of various large spiral-shelled marine gastropod mollusks (as of the genus Strombus); also : its shell used especially for cameos
2 often capitalized : a native or resident of the Florida Keys
3 : CONCHA 2
[conch illustration]
Brazilian dude

Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 2:01 pm
by anders
My firm belief is that the word imitates the sound you hear when exposed to a blow on your head.

Other similar onomatopoetics might be cloink and boink.

Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 2:34 pm
by KatyBr
Anders! Conk is a hollow sound, when hit upon the head I heard a dull thump!

Katy

Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 8:18 pm
by KatyBr
here is a conch
Image

Katy