Hypertext Webster Gateway: "spunk"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Spunk \Spunk\ (sp[u^][ng]k), n. [Gael. spong, or Ir. sponc,
tinder, sponge; cf. AS. sponge a sponge (L. spongia), sp[=o]n
a chip. Cf. {Sponge}, {Punk}.] [Written also {sponk}.]
1. Wood that readily takes fire; touchwood; also, a kind of
tinder made from a species of fungus; punk; amadou. --Sir
T. Browne.
2. An inflammable temper; spirit; mettle; pluck; as, a man of
spunk. [Colloq.]
A lawless and dangerous set, men of spunk, and
spirit, and power, both of mind and body. --Prof.
Wilson.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
spunk
n 1: material for starting a fire [syn: {kindling}, {tinder}, {touchwood},
{punk}]
2: the courage to carry on: "he kept fighting on pure spunk";
"you haven't got the heart for baseball" [syn: {heart}, {mettle},
{nerve}]
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