Meanings
fink1
present singular third person finks · participle present finking · participle past finked · past finked
fink2
present singular third person finks · participle present finking · participle past fought · past fought
- USdialectalpronunciation spellingslangPronunciation spelling of think.
fink3
plural finks
- South AfricaUSslangAny of several birds in the family Ploceidae native to southern Africa.
Fink4
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA contemptible person.
nounAn informer.
More synonyms by meaning
nounsomeone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
verbconfess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
fink · noun, verb
- Old Englishtūn“enclosure, homestead, etc.”
- substrate
- GermanFink“finch; frivolous or dissolute person; informer”
- Englishfink
Unknown; first attested in 1894. A connection to Yiddish as some propose is unlikely. Suggested origins include: * German Fink (“finch; frivolous or dissolute person; informer”) as finches are notoriously chatty birds in groups. If so, then Doublet of finch. Compare canary (“informer”). * Partly from the German theory, a fanciful association by students with the freedom of wild birds as opposed to caged ones. * The slang name pink for Pinkerton agents and their use as strikebreakers in the 1892 Homestead strike. If the term is from the corporate name, then it is of Scots origin, Pinkerton being from a place near Dunbar, which is from an unrecognized first element (possibly ultimately pre-Celtic substrate) and Old English tūn (“enclosure, homestead, etc.”).
More words from German, substrate, Old English
Full word history & related roots →fink · noun
- Afrikaansvink
- Afrikaansvink
- Englishfink
Borrowed from Afrikaans vink.
More words from Afrikaans
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian стачкоизменник
- стачкоизменник (stačkoizmennik)strikebreaker
Czech informátor, informant
- informátorinformer
- informantinformer
- udavačinformer
- stávkokazstrikebreaker
Italian crumiro
- crumirostrikebreaker
Portuguese informante, delator
- informanteinformer
- delatorinformer
- fura-grevestrikebreaker
- dedurarto betray a trust
Russian предатель, стукач
- предатель (predatelʹ)informer
- стукач (stukač)informer
- наушник (naušnik)informer
- доносчик (donosčik)informer
- осведомитель (osvedomitelʹ)informer
- фискал (fiskal)informer
- предавать (predavatʹ)to betray a trust
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with fink
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
fink. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fink
“fink.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fink. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fink,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fink.
Source: fink on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.