wonk

wonk

English

Etymology

American English student slang 1954; perhaps navy slang before that. "Expert" sense popularized in the Clinton administration, 1993.

Origin uncertain, possibly from wonky (“shaky, unreliable”) or wank, wanker , or simply expressive.

Noun

wonk (plural wonks)

1. (derogatory, informal) An overly studious person, particularly student; a nerd.
   • 2014, Catherine Sheldrick Ross, Pleasures of Reading, The: A Booklover's Alphabet (page 53)

     Previously, e-reading had been the domain of early adopters and new technology wonks.

2. (by extension, informal) A policy wonk or other intellectual expert.

Derived terms

• policy wonk
• wonkfest
• wonky

Translations

overly studious person

French: bûcheur (fr) m German: Streber (de) m, Streberin f

Russian: бота́н (ru) m (botán) Spanish: empollón m, empollona (es) f (Spain, derogatory), chapón m, chapona f (Spain, derogatory), mateo (es) m (Chile, colloquial) Zazaki: cıwan, resber c

References

• “wonk” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.
• World Wide Words
• A.Word.A.Day--wonk

Anagrams

• Kwon, know