CONKS
Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 10:42 am
I like this word that mean "To hit, especially in the head." Where does this word come from?
However, the American Heritage Dictionary has three different meanings for conk: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.
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.
Brazilian dudeMain 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]