Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
dank. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
dank, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
dank in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
dank you have here. The definition of the word
dank will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
dank, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English danke (“wet, damp; dampness, moisture”), probably from North Germanic, related to Swedish dank (“marshy spot”), Icelandic dökk (“pool”), Old Norse dǫkk (“pit, depression”), from Proto-Germanic *dankwaz (“dark”). However, some trace it to a West Germanic source such as Dutch damp (“vapor”) or Middle High German damph, both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dampaz (“smoke, steam, vapor”).
Modern slang senses derived from the drug sense; compare based (“awesome, especially in a right-wing context online”) from drug terminology freebased.
Adjective
dank (comparative danker, superlative dankest)
- Dark, damp and humid.
The dank cave was chilly and spooky.
2022 November 30, Nick Brodrick, “Pride and innovation shine at St Pancras”, in RAIL, number 971, page 69:It's a world away from the dank and uninviting St Pancras that British Rail wanted to tear down in the 1960s.
- (figuratively, of marijuana) Moist and sticky, (by extension) highly potent.
That was dank bud.
- (Internet slang, often ironic) Great, awesome.
- (originally 4chan slang) Expounding right-wing views in a cool way; based.
2018, January 5, Rick Wilson, “Bannon Banished for Telling Truths About Trump as MAGA Monsters Turn on Each Other”, in The Daily Beast:His house organ Breitbart and a host of Trump-right websites and news outlets sang praises to his dank genius.
2025 May 2, Stephen Collins, “What to look for in Spring with Kemi Badenoch”, in The Guardian:One thing that always brings me joy at this time of year is to spot a really dank meme. Or seeing the number of plays on my Jordan Peterson podcast, or beholding one of my mutuals get traction on X with a thread on Cultural Marxism and Gender Ideology
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
dank (uncountable)
- Moisture; humidity; water.
1600 or 1601 (date written), I. M. , “The Prologue”, in Antonios Reuenge. The Second Part. , London: ">…] for Thomas Fisher, and are to be soulde , published 1602, →OCLC, signature A2, recto:The ravviſh danke of clumzie vvinter ramps / The fluent ſummers vaine: and drizling ſleete / Chilleth the vvan bleak cheek of the numd earth, / VVhilſt ſnarling guſts nibble the iuyceles leaues, / From the nak't ſhuddring branch;
1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. , London: ">…] , and are to be sold by Peter Parker ; nd by Robert Boulter ; nd Matthias Walker, , →OCLC:Yet oft they quit | The dank, and rising on siff pennons, tow'r | the mid aerial sky
- Dankness; a dark, moist and usually unpleasant atmosphere.
1995, Greg Daniels, Bart Sells His Soul (The Simpsons):You ain't thinking of getting rid of the dank, are you, Moe?
2002, Wendel Messer, The Sink: The Last Days of Driving, Wendel Messer, →ISBN:Out of curiosity I follow him down into the dank of the basement.
2006 July 4, Michele Baxter, The Chronicles of Serendipus: The Tale of the Secret Keeper, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 77:Now, though, there was a sound that seemed quite out of place there in the dank of the forest. It was the most beautiful, harmonious sound that Susie had ever heard.
- (slang) Strong, high-quality cannabis.
2015, Scott Jacques, Richard Wright, Code of the Suburb, page 9:Smoking mids will get you about three times higher than shwag, and same for dank—it'll be about six times higher than smoking some mids.
Etymology 2
From Middle English danken, from the adjective (see above).
Verb
dank (third-person singular simple present danks, present participle danking, simple past and past participle danked)
- (obsolete, intransitive) To moisten, dampen; used of mist, dew etc.
References
- ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
- ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959) “669”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 669
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “dank”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Etymology 3
Noun
dank (plural danks)
- (historical) A small silver coin formerly used in Persia.
Anagrams
Dutch
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch danc, from Old Dutch thank, from Proto-Germanic *þankaz.
Noun
dank m (uncountable)
- gratitude, thanks
- show/token of recognition
- reward, recompense
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
dank
- inflection of danken:
- first-person singular present indicative
- (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
- imperative
German
Etymology
From the noun Dank, as in phrases like "Dank sei dir", with the copula dropping away and a semantic broadening to cover causal senses. Compare English thanks to.
Pronunciation
Preposition
dank
- thanks to, because of, courtesy of
Dank seiner Arbeit hat er genug Geld zum Leben.- Thanks to his work he has enough money to live.
Usage notes
- Dank used to be more common with the dative, but today the genitive is more predominant.
- Personal pronouns, however, normally take the dative, although the genitive is possible in very elevated usage.
References
Further reading
- “dank” in Duden online
- “dank” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Lower Sorbian
Pronunciation
Noun
dank m inan
- tax, fine, levy, duty
Declension
Further reading
- Starosta, Manfred (1999) “dank”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag
Luxembourgish
Verb
dank
- second-person singular imperative of danken