different between punk vs hoodlum

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /p??k/
• (US) IPA^(key): /p??k/
• Rhymes: -??k

Etymology 1

Of uncertain origin. Possibly from the application of the sense punk (“rotten wood dust used as tinder”) (attested since 1678) to anything worthless (attested since 1869) and then to any undesirable person (since 1908).

Noun

punk (countable and uncountable, plural punks)

1. (countable) A person used for sex, particularly:
   1. (now historical and rare) Synonym of prostitute: a person paid for sex. [1575]
      • , Act V, Scene i:

        My lord, she may be a punk; for many of them are neither maid, widow, nor wife.

      • 1663: Samuel Butler, Hudibras:

        ...And made them fight, like mad or drunk,
        For Dame Religion, as for punk...

      • 1936, Anthony Bertram, Like the Phoenix:

        However, terrible as it may seem to the tall maiden sisters of J.P.'s in Queen Anne houses with walled vegetable gardens, this courtesan, strumpet, harlot, whore, punk, fille de joie, street-walker, this trollop, this trull, this baggage, this hussy, this drab, skit, rig, quean, mopsy, demirep, demimondaine, this wanton, this fornicatress, this doxy, this concubine, this frail sister, this poor Queenie—did actually solicit me, did actually say 'coming home to-night, dearie' and my soul was not blasted enough to call a policeman.

   2. (LGBT, obsolete) Synonym of catamite: a boy or younger man used by an older as a (usually passive) homosexual partner. [1698]
      • 1698, Womens Complaint to Venus:

        The Beaus...
        At night make a Punk of him that's first drunk.

   3. (chiefly US, LGBT) Synonym of bottom: any passive or effeminate homosexual male.
   4. (US, LGBT, slang) A boy who accompanies a hobo, especially as used for sex. [1893]
      • 1973, Barry Broadfoot, Ten Lost Years, 1929-1939: Memories of Canadians who survived the Depression, p. 137:

        They'd pick up youngsters as, well—as their playthings. These kids were called punks.

   5. (US, LGBT, derogatory, now chiefly African-American Vernacular) Synonym of faggot: any male homosexual. [1933]
   6. (US, LGBT, prison slang) Synonym of bitch: a man forced or coerced into a homosexual relationship, especially in prison. [1946]
      • 1946, Mezz Mezzrow & al., Really the Blues, Payback Press 1999, p. 15:

        A punk, if you want it in plain English, is a boy with smooth skin who takes the place of a woman in a jailbird's love life.

      • 2001, Joseph T. Hallinan, Going Up the River: Travels in a Prison Nation, p. 106:

        If he is small and weak, he may decide to become a ‘punk’ and allow himself to be raped by the inmate most likely to protect him.

2. (countable, US slang) A worthless person, particularly: [1904]
   • 1933, Ernest Hemingway, "Winner Take Nothing", p. 94:

     This fellow was just a punk... a nobody.

   1. (humorous, rare) Synonym of fellow: any person, especially a male comrade. [1904]
   2. (derogatory) A petty criminal, especially a juvenile delinquent. [1908]
      • 1908 October 18, New York Times, p. 9:

        He said the prisoner called them ‘punk’... He admitted that he shouted ‘punk’ to them.

      • 1963, Thomas Pynchon, V, p. 145:

        There was nothing so special about the gang, punks are punks.
   3. (derogatory) Synonym of sissy: a weak, timid person. [1939]
      • 1950, Hal Ellson, Tomboy, p. 12:

        Do you think a little thing like a scratch would bother me? I'm no punk.

      • 2006, Kali James, Can U Get Away? (page 17)

        Taking him home she hemmed him up soon as they stepped in the door. Now Tony was a bad dude in the streets but when it came to his mama, he was a punk. A few cuss words on her part had him spilling everything.

   4. Synonym of amateur. [1923]
   5. (circus slang) A young, untrained animal or worker. [1926]
3. (uncountable, music) Short for punk rock, a genre known for short, loud, energetic songs with electric guitars and strong drums. [1970]
   • 1972 November, L. Bangs, Creem, p. 68:

     Who else... would have the nerve to actually begin a song with the line ‘Whatchew gonna do, mama, now that the roast beef's gone...?’ Man, that is true punk; that is so fucked up it's got class up the ass.

4. (countable) Short for punk rocker, a musician known for playing punk rock or a fan of the genre. [1976]
5. (uncountable) The larger nonconformist social movement associated with punk rock and its fans.

Usage notes

In its sense as a punk rocker, sometimes given the informal plural form punx.

Synonyms

• (male homosexual senses): See Thesaurus:male homosexual
• (hobo's boy companion): gunsel
• (juvenile delinquent): trouble-maker, hoodlum, hooligan

Derived terms

• punker (as a prostitute's client)

Translations

Adjective

punk (comparative punker, superlative punkest)

1. (US, colloquial) Worthless, contemptible, particularly [1907]
   1. Bad, substandard.
   2. Thuggish, criminal.
   3. (chiefly African-American Vernacular) Cowardly. [1930]
   4. Poorly, sickly.
   5. Inexperienced.
2. Of or concerning punk rock or its associated subculture. [1971]

Verb

punk (third-person singular simple present punks, present participle punking, simple past and past participle punked)

1. To pimp.
2. To forcibly perform anal sex upon an unwilling partner.

   Ricky punked his new cell-mates.

   • 1934, James T. Farrell, The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan, Ch. 19:

     "Hell, Haggerty, with that caved-in chest you got, and with your guts pickled in alcohol, and a leg and a half in the grave, the Navy wouldn't even take you for punkin', Barney sourly said.

3. To prank.

   I got expelled when I punked the principal.

4. (especially with "out") To give up or concede; to act like a wimp.

   Jimmy was going to help me with the prank, but he punked (out) at the last minute.

5. (often with "out" or "up") To adapt or embellish in the style of the punk movement.

Usage notes

The relatively tame 21st century usage of punk to mean "prank" was popularized by the American television show Punk'd. Until as recently as the late 20th century, punk still connoted rape or submitting to anal rape (punk out). The second use of the term punk-out is now comparable to acting like a pussy and mildly implies submissive behavior in general.

Synonyms

• (to pimp): hustle, prostitute; see also Thesaurus:pimp out

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Perhaps a reduction of spunk (“tinder”); compare funk (“rotten wood”). Alternatively, perhaps from Unami punkw (“dust”).

Noun

punk (countable and uncountable, plural punks)

1. (uncountable) Any material used as tinder for lighting fires, such as agaric, dried wood, or touchwood, but especially wood altered by certain fungi.
   • 1899, H. B. Cushman, History of the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez Indians, page 271:

     On one occasion a venerable old Indian man, who, in order to light his pipe, was trying to catch a spark upon a piece of punk struck from his flint and steel; ...

   • 1922, Harry Ignatius Marshall, The Karen People of Burma, page 61:

     The oil is mixed with bits of dry wood or punk and moulded into sticks about a cubit long and an inch in diameter by putting it into joints of small bamboo.

   • 2001, William W. Johnstone, War of the Mountain Man, page 116:

     He made him a little smoldering pocket of punk to light the fuses and waited.

2. (countable) A utensil for lighting wicks or fuses (such as those of fireworks) resembling stick incense.
   • 1907, Jack London, The Road, [2]:

     On the end a coal of fire slowly smouldered. It would last for hours, and my cell-mate called it a "punk."

   • 1994, Ashland Price, Viking Tempest, page 353:

     Then, without another word, he rose and left the shelter, apparently in order to light the vessel's wick with a punk from the dying campfire.

   • 2004, Shawn Shiflett, Hidden Place, page 221:

     He raised the cylinder high in the air with his bare hand, used a punk to light the fuse, and KABOOM!

References

Citations

Bibliography

• “punk, n.¹ and adj.².”, in OED Online ?, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2007

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from English punk.

Noun

punk m (plural punks)

1. punk

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English punk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??k/
• Hyphenation: punk

Noun

punk m (uncountable)

1. (music) punk, punk rock (rock genre)

   Synonym: punkrock

Derived terms

• punkband
• punker
• punkkapsel

Noun

punk m (plural punks)

1. (uncommon, music) a punk (member of the punk subculture, fan of punk rock)

   Synonym: punker

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English punk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pœ?k/

Noun

punk m (plural punks)

1. punk

Adjective

punk (feminine singular punke, masculine plural punks, feminine plural punkes)

1. punk

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• pønk

Etymology

Borrowed from English punk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pø?k/

Noun

punk m (definite singular punken, uncountable)

1. punk music

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English punk.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /?p??k/

Noun

punk m (uncountable)

1. punk (a social and musical movement)
2. punk; punk rock (a subgenre of rock music)

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:punk.

Noun

punk m, f (plural punks)

1. punk (a member of the punk movement or fan of punk rock)

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:punk.

Adjective

punk (invariable, comparable)

1. relating to punk music or culture
2. (Brazil, slang, of a thing or situation) complicated, difficult, tense

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English punk.

Noun

punk m (plural punks)

1. punk

Derived terms

• anarcopunk

Related terms

• punki

Further reading

• “punk” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Etymology

First attested in a December 1866 Daily Alta California article, which mentions "the 'Hoodlum Gang' of juvenile thieves". Several possible origins have been proposed. It may derive from a Germanic word like Swabian hudelum (“disorderly”) or Bavarian Haderlump (“ragamuffin”).

Herbert Asbury's book The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld (1933, A. A. Knopf, New York) says the word originated in San Francisco from a particular street gang's call to unemployed Irishmen to "huddle 'em" (to beat up Chinese migrants), after which San Francisco newspapers took to calling street gangs "hoodlums".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?hu?dl?m/, /?h?dl?m/
• Hyphenation: hood?lum

Noun

hoodlum (plural hoodlums)

1. A gangster; a hired thug.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:criminal
2. A rough or violent youth.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:troublemaker

Usage notes

• A short form, "hood," also exists.
• A nonstandard, jocular plural hoodla (treating the word like a Latin noun) also exists.
• The behavior of a hoodlum may be referred to as "hoodlumism."

Translations

References

Further reading

• “Frederick Bee History Project”, in (Please provide the title of the work)?^[2], accessed October 4, 2014