spunk
1
9.9
A dry material used to start a fire
- noun
- /spʌŋk/
- Archaic
:
yesca
- The old explorer always carried spunk in his bag for quick fire-starting during his adventures.
Examples
-
She will not be shunned in the halls of the White House, and senators and representatives will still curry her favor or, at the very worst, attribute her rant to notorious spunk.
Blog text (24) -
In the past, people would collect dry moss and bark as spunk to start their fires.
-
He used some spunk to ignite the kindling and get the campfire going.
Synonyms
tinder
vsspunk
15
4.5
Dry material that lights easily to start a fire
is an older term for the same starting material
kindling
vsspunk
9
2.2
Small dry sticks used to start a fire
is finer spark catching material used historically rather than larger sticks
8
9.9
A dry, spongy material used to start a fire
is used mainly to catch sparks rather than burn slowly
9.9
Dry wood used to start a fire
is a general older name for starting materials not only decayed wood
Surface Forms
Etymology
Spunk originally meant a small piece of tinder or a 'spark' used to start a fire, coming from an old word for the material that makes a flame, so think of spunk as the tiny thing that lights a fire.