Pink

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /pɪŋk/
• Rhymes: -ɪŋk

Origin unknown.

Full definition of pink

Noun

1. (regional) The common minnow, . from 15th c.
2. (regional) A young Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, before it becomes a smolt; a parr. from 17th c.

From Middle Dutch pincke.

Noun

1. (now historical) A narrow boat. from 15th c.

Probably from Low Dutch or Low German; compare Low German pinken ‘hit, peck’.

Verb

1. To decorate a piece of clothing or fabric by adding holes or by scalloping the fringe.
2. To prick with a sword.
• 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society 1973, p. 642:‘Pugh!’ says she, ‘you have pinked a man in a duel, that's all.’
3. To wound by irony, criticism, or ridicule.
4. To choose; to cull; to pick out.

Noun

1. A stab.

Origin unknown; perhaps from the notion of the petals being pinked (Etymology 3, above).

Noun

1. Any of various flowers in the genus Dianthus, sometimes called carnations. from 16th c.This garden in particular has a beautiful bed of pinks.
2. (dated) A perfect example; excellence, perfection; the embodiment of some quality. from 16th c.Your hat, madam, is the very pink of fashion.
• Shakespearethe very pink of courtesy
3. The colour of this flower, between red and white; pale red. from 17th c.My new dress is a wonderful shade of pink.
4. Hunting pink; scarlet, as worn by hunters. from 18th c.
• 1928, Siegfried Sassoon, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man, Penguin 2013, p. 23:I had taken it for granted that there would be people ‘in pink’, but these enormous confident strangers overwhelmed me with the visible authenticity of their brick-red coats.
• 1986, Michael J O'Shea, James Joyce and Heraldry, SUNY, page 69:it is interesting to note the curious legend that the pink of the hunting field is not due to any optical advantage but to an entirely different reason.
5. (snooker) One of the colour balls used in snooker, with a value of 6 points. from 19th c.Oh dear, he's left himself snookered behind the pink.
6. (slang) An unlettered and uncultured, but relatively prosperous, member of the middle classes; compare babbitt, bourgeoisie.

Adjective

1. Having a colour between red and white; pale red.
2. Of a fox-hunter's jacket: scarlet.
3. Having conjunctivitis.
4. (obsolete) By comparison to red (communist), describing someone who sympathizes with the ideals of communism without actually being a Russian-style communist: a pinko.
• 1976: Bhalchandra Pundlik Adarkar, The Future of the Constitution: A Critical AnalysisThe word "socialist" has so many connotations that it can cover almost anything from pink liberalism to red-red communism.
5. (informal) Relating to women or girls.pink-collar; pink job
6. (informal) Relating to homosexuals as a group within society.the pink economypink dollar; pink pound

Derived terms

Onomatopoeic

Verb

1. (of a motor car) To emit a high "pinking" noise, usually as a result of ill-set ignition timing for the fuel used (in a spark ignition engine).

Dutch pinken.

Verb

1. (obsolete) To wink; to blink.

Adjective

1. (obsolete) Half-shut; winking.----