Etymology

punkie

punk·ie
P3U1N1K5I1E1

Today it means: A small two-winged fly or midge of the family Ceratopogonidae, which bites and then sucks the blood of mammals; a biting midge or sandfly. Full definition →

Jersey Dutch *punkje ← Munsee *pónkwes ← Dutch -je
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punkie · noun1

  1. Proto-Algonquian · derived from*penkw-“ashes; dust”
  2. Dutch · derived from-je
  3. Munsee · derived from*pónkwes
  4. Jersey Dutch · derived from*punkje
  5. English todaypunkie

From Jersey Dutch *punkje + English -ie (diminutive suffix). *Punkje is derived from Delaware Munsee *pónkwes + Dutch -je (diminutive suffix); and *pónkwes from Proto-Algonquian *penkw- (“ashes; dust”) (whence Unami punkw (“dust”); probably referring to the insects’ small size) + *-ehs- (diminutive suffix). Compare the name of the Pennsylvania, USA, borough Punxsutawney (from Unami punkwës utènay (“sandfly town”)).

punkie · noun2

Possibly an alteration of pumpkin (“plant of the species Cucurbita pepo; round orange or yellow fruit of this plant; (archaic) any type of edible gourd”) + -ie (diminutive suffix).

punkie · noun3

Possibly an alteration of the first two syllables of pumpkinseed (“the North American sunfish Lepomis gibbosus”) + -ie (diminutive suffix).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.