Podunk

podunk English Alternative forms en podunk Etymology From an en alg-eas, likely en xlo -, word or words. Similar names were applied to various small and generally unknown places. By the late 19th century the word came to mean an obscure small town, a use possibly popularized by Mark Twain (see quotation). Carltonen 1938 February American Speech 14 1 451137 73-76 W. R. Carlton Podunk and Reeden 1938 February American Speech 14 1 451216 99-108 Allen Walker Reed The Rationale of 'Podunk' survey similar place names and note a transformation from Potaecke to Potunke to Podunk. Carlton suggests a derivation from the adjective petukque ("round"). Tookeren 1911 William Wallace Tooker The Indian place-names on Long island and islands adjacent, with their probable significations https://archive.org/details/indianplacenames00tookiala 196-197 Potunk compares oj petobeg bog (as Chippewa) and abe poteba to sink in the mire and divides the word into pot- ("to sink") and -unk (locative). Algonquian expert Ives Goddard saysen September 20, 2019 Code Switch: Word Watch https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/09/20/411502703/some-podunk-town-in-the-middle-of-nowhere Some 'Podunk' Town In The Middle Of Nowhere Leah Donnella "We have no idea what the word means. You'll be able to find guesses in the sources if you look around. Don't believe any of it." Pronunciation en /ˈpoʊdʌŋk/ Noun A member of a Native American people who spoke an Algonquian Quiripi language and lived primarily in modern-day Hartford County, Connecticut. Proper noun en US A mythical small town of no importance. 19 en 1869 w:Mark Twain https://books.google.com/books?id=e1BODwAAQBAJ&pg=PT8017 Thomas K. Beecher Mr. Beecher and the Clergy They even know it in Podunk, wherever that may be. en 1877 John Russell Bartlett Dictionary of Americanisms 4th 791 https://books.google.com/books?id=z5wYAAAAIAAJ Podunk. A term applied to an imaginary place in burlesque writing or speaking. on en February 2, 1933 Boston Herald F. W. Buxton Podunk, like Atlantis, has no locus. Sought often, it is unfound and apparently unfindable. en November 15, 2007 Scott Miller This verdict's already in: Bonds won't hit No. 763 CBS Sports http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/10475850 This isn't some Podunk charge in some Podunk court. Charged with four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice, Bonds, if convicted, could be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison. Synonyms mythical small town of no importance backwater, hog waller, hog island, hog town, jerkwater town, one-horse town Translations mythical small town of no importance Danish: da Østre Bøvelse Dutch: nl Schubbekutteveen n Netherlands, nl Nergenshuizen n, nl Lutjebroek n French: fr Trifouillis-les-Oies German: de Hintertupfingen Hungarian: hu Piripócs, hu Salakszentmotoros Italian: it vattelapesca Malay: ms negeri antah-berantah Classical Negeri Sembilan Malay: zmi ontahmano Sarawak Malay: poz-sml tempat jin bertendang Polish: pl Pcim Dolny m-in, pl Pipidówka f Romanian: ro Cuca Măcăii, ro Cucuieții din Deal Russian: ru тьмутарака́нь, ru Мухосра́нск obscene, "Midgeshatville" Scottish Gaelic: gd Lùb a' Gheòidh Serbo-Croatian: sh vukojebina f obscene, literally “the place where the wolves fuck” Ukrainian: uk звідкілясь "from somewhere", uk хтозна-звідки "who knows where", uk чортзна-де "devil knows where" See also Thesaurus:remote place Category:Fictional locations (Wikipedia) Placeholder name § Geographical locations (Wikipedia) References en Fictional locations en placeholder terms