punkie
A small two-winged fly or midge of the family Ceratopogonidae, which bites and then…A small two-winged fly or midge of the family Ceratopogonidae, which bites and then sucks the blood of mammals; a biting midge or sandfly.
Meaning
3 senses(New England)A small two-winged fly or midge of the family Ceratopogonidae, which bites and then sucks the blood of mammals; a biting midge or sandfly.
minute two-winged insect that sucks the blood of mammals and birds and other insects
(England, South, West)In full punkie lantern: a lantern similar to a jack-o'-lantern consisting of a gourd such as a pumpkin or a root vegetable such as a mangelwurzel or swede which has been hollowed out, in which a candle has been placed; these are chiefly displayed during Punkie Night in late October.
(US)Synonym of pumpkinseed (“a North American sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus”).
Origin
From Jersey Dutch *punkje + English -ie (diminutive suffix). *Punkje is derived from DelawFrom Jersey Dutch *punkje + English -ie (diminutive suffix). *Punkje is derived from Delaware Munsee *pónkwes + Dutch -je (diminutive suffix); and *pónkwes from Proto-Algonquian *penkw- (“ashes; dust”) (whence Unami punkw (“dust”); probably referring to the insects’ small size) + *-ehs- (diminutive suffix). Compare the name of the Pennsylvania, USA, borough Punxsutawney (from Unami punkwës utènay (“sandfly town”)).
Possibly an alteration of pumpkin (“plant of the species Cucurbita pepo; round orange or yellow fruit of this plant; (archaic) any type of edible gourd”) + -ie (diminutive suffix).
Possibly an alteration of the first two syllables of pumpkinseed (“the North American sunfish Lepomis gibbosus”) + -ie (diminutive suffix).
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