ENGLISH
REFERENCE

dank

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ˈdæŋk// UK //dˈæŋk// dank Archaic Slang

adj. describing something that is very high quality, cool, or impressive. People often use this word to talk about great music, food, or internet memes.

adj. excellent or of exceptionally high quality. Evolved from a term for potent cannabis to a general superlative in internet culture.


SIMPLE

That was a dank meme you shared yesterday.

CONTEXTUAL

The underground club had a dank atmosphere with great music and lighting.

COMPLEX

While the term originally described unpleasantly damp caves, its modern slang usage identifies cultural artifacts that are particularly resonant or high-quality within a specific subculture.

Synonyms
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.

Etymology 2

From Middle English danken, from the adjective (see above).

Usage

Used predicatively or attributively; primarily found in digital and youth-oriented contexts.

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