different between honk vs quonk

English

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /h??k/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /h??k/, /h??k/
• Rhymes: -??k

Verb

honk (third-person singular simple present honks, present participle honking, simple past and past participle honked)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To use a car horn.

2. (intransitive) To make a loud, harsh sound like a car horn.
3. (intransitive) To make the vocal sound of a goose.
4. (slang) To vomit: regurgitate the contents of one's stomach.
5. (slang) To have a bad smell.
6. (informal) To squeeze playfully, usually a breast or nose.

Derived terms

• honker
• honking

Translations

Noun

honk (countable and uncountable, plural honks)

1. The sound produced by a typical car horn.
2. The cry of a goose.
3. (informal) A bad smell.

Translations

Interjection

honk

1. Imitation of car horn, used, for example, to clear a path for oneself.

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

honk (plural honks)

1. Clipping of honky.

Anagrams

• Kohn, khon

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch honc, likely through Old Dutch from Proto-Germanic *hank-, *hunk-. Only has cognates in the Frisian languages and possibly in the Old High German placename Hancwin. Since cognates outside of Germanic are lacking, the word is probably of substrate origin. Possibly related to haak (“hook”) and hoek (“corner”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???k/
• Hyphenation: honk
• Rhymes: -??k

Noun

honk n (plural honken, diminutive honkje n)

1. (somewhat rare) home, place where one belongs, shelter
2. (games) base (safe zone, e.g. in baseball and similar sports)

Synonyms

• (home): thuis, heem

Derived terms

• honkbal
• honkvast
• jeugdhonk
• krachthonk

References

English

Etymology

Imitative.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?kw??k/

Noun

quonk (uncountable)

1. Unwanted noise picked up by a microphone in a broadcasting studio.
2. Audience chatter that disturbs the performer.

Verb

quonk (third-person singular simple present quonks, present participle quonking, simple past and past participle quonked)

1. (intransitive) To produce unwanted noise.
   • 2004, Alastair Scott, Stuffed Lives

     The microphone quonked, caused the speakers to emit an electronic belch which looped and reverberated […]

2. (intransitive) To honk.
   • 1902, Cooper Ornithological Society, The Condor

     As we pushed among the reeds in the swamp, the grebes could be heard quonking in the buckbrush or beyond it.

   • 1999, Ronald Rompkey, Eliot Curwen, Labrador Odyssey

     […] no goose was heard there, but lower down we heard some "quonking," […]