Funk

n. [ OE. funke a little fire; akin to Prov. E. funk touchwood, G. funke spark, and perh. to Goth. fōn fire. ] 1. An offensive smell; a stench. [ Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who funks; a shirk; a coward. [ Colloq. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. a state of fear. [ PJC ]

4. a mildly depressed state of mind; -- often used in the phrase blue funk. [ PJC ]

v. t. 1. To envelop with an offensive smell or smoke. [ Obs. ] King. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To funk at; to flinch at; to shrink from (a thing or person); as, to funk a task. [ Colloq. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. To frighten; to cause to flinch. [ Colloq. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. i. 1. To emit an offensive smell; to stink. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To be frightened, and shrink back; to flinch; as, to funk at the edge of a precipice. [ Colloq. ] C. Kingsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

To funk out, to back out in a cowardly fashion. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To funk right out o' political strife. Lowell (Biglow Papers).

n. A genus of robust East Asian clump-forming perennial herbs having racemose flowers: plantain lilies; sometimes placed in the family Hostaceae.
Syn. -- Hosta, genus Hosta, genus Funka. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. one of many families or subfamilies into which some classification systems subdivide the Liliaceae, but not widely accepted; it includes the genus Hosta.
Syn. -- Hostaceae, family Hostaceae, family Funkaceae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } n. A shrinking back through fear. [ Colloq. ] “The horrid panic, or funk (as the men of Eton call it).” De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. having an earthy, unsophisticated style or feeling; in (Music), earthy and seemingly unsophisticated, having elements of black American blues and gospel. See 2nd funk, n. [ PJC ]