Etymonline has the shaky theory that it derives (via Scots) from Scots Gaelic spong, meaning tinder, pith or sponge, from Latin spongia. Apparently it originally meant spark, and the modern senses developed later. (I'm not entirely sure how the ejaculate sense would fit in here). Further strength is given by the fact that Irish sponnc, a cognate with spong, means everything that the English word now does, perhaps excluding the semen, again. --Wytukaze 14:33, 14 May 2005 (UTC)
Admittedly, I don't know how widespread the usage is, but where I'm from (the Toronto area of Ontario, Canada) I'm fairly confident I could talk to anyone (of the right age) and they would know spunk is semen. So I'm wondering if this is common enough to have it added that it's Canadian slang as well. Something to consider. --24.150.27.219 04:05, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
The slang meaning semen was first recorded in circa 1888. But the original meaning courage or determination was the literal meaning, recorded in 1582. The verb usage means ‘used to show spirit’, first used in 1840. (Usually ‘spunk up’)
Some of the dictionaries in the vulgar slang meaning marked as taboo, for example Collins and Oxford Learner’s Dictonary. MarcoToa 0425 (talk) 00:05, 8 November 2024 (UTC)
Original meaning ‘spirit, determination’. In the British slang, it means ‘seminal fluid, ejaculate’, this meaning is attested in circa 1888. MarcoToa 0425 (talk) 05:23, 29 November 2024 (UTC)