Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1825, 1886, 1949
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STUNK, n.3
1. Now gen. in pl.: the stake in a game of marbles, the game itself (Rxb. 1921 T.S.D.C.; Fif., Bwk., Lnk., Kcb., Rxb. 1971); the cry when the winning player claims the stakes (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.), hence by extension, as a v., to steal (Rxb. 1971).Lth. 1825 Jam.:
“Hae ye put in your stunk?” “I'll at least get my ain stunk”.Hdg. 1886 J. P. Reid Facts & Fancies 194:
See, there's the score; in wi' yer stunks.Lnl. 1949 J. Drummond Behind Dark Shutters xvii.:
They'd play stunks with their bools against the disk wheels.
2. In transf. sense: a large flock or gathering of birds, as of rooks at dusk (m.Lth. 1969 Scots Mag. (Sept.) 527, stonk). See etym. note.
[Also in Eng. dial. in form stonks, poss. a childish deformation of stock(s), a fund, store, contribution to a common fund.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Stunk n.3". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 3 Mar 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/stunk_n3>
