Honk

See also: honk and hönk

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

• Hong
• Hunk, Hung (Kölsch)
• Hond (Moselle Franconian; southern Ripuarian)

Etymology

From Old High German hunt (with Ripuarian velarisation), from Proto-Germanic *hundaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hoŋk/

Noun

Honk m (plural Höng or Hong, diminutive Hönkche)

1. (most dialects of Ripuarian) dog; hound

Usage notes

• The forms with nk (ng) are preserved even in dialects that have widely reverted the velarisation in word-final position.

German

Etymology

Uncertain. Apparently not attested before the 21st century. One theory traces it back to English honky (“white person”), but this word is little known in Germany and the semantics are hardly satisfactory. Somewhat more plausible seems the derivation from a humorous military acronym for Hauptschüler ohne nennenswerte Kenntnisse (HonK), roughly referring to a “recruit with lesser education and no mentionable skills”. Such acronyms are often secondary, however.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɔŋk/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Noun

Honk m (strong, genitive Honks, plural Honks)

1. (colloquial, derogatory) moron (stupid person)

   Synonym: Horst

   • 2011, “Showbeginn”, performed by Samy Deluxe:

     Aber bleib mal auf'm Teppich, du Honk / Denn den restlichen Song / Rap' ich perfekt so wie sonst

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of Honk [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Honk	die	Honks
genitive	eines	des	Honks	der	Honks
dative	einem	dem	Honk	den	Honks
accusative	einen	den	Honk	die	Honks

Derived terms

• Vollhonk

Further reading

• “Honk” in Duden online