Ongoing History Daily: The History of the word “punk,” part 1

If I say “punk” in a musical context, you know exactly what I’m talking about: a high-energy, anti-establishment form of music characterized by loud guitars and furious drumming. But how did this word come to denote a genre of music? That’s more complicated than you might think.

Its original meaning—and this is back in 1596 when the word first appeared in print somewhere in England—a “punck” was a prostitute. From there, it evolved into describing someone worthless, stupid, foolish, homosexual or some kind of general good-for-nothing individual. In the 50s, a petty criminal or juvenile delinquent was called a “punk.”

Fine. But where does the connection with music come in? That’s where we’ll pick things up next time.