English
flunk
Alteration of funk, or perhaps a blend of flinch + funk.
Proto-Indo-European *kleng- ‘to bend, turn, wind’
Proto-Germanic *hlankijaną ‘to bend, twist, flex’
Frankish *hlankijan
Old French flenchir
Middle French flenchir ‘to bend’
English flinch
Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- ‘smoke’
…
Vulgar Latin fūmicāre
Old Northern French fungier ‘to smoke’
French funquer
French dialectal
English funk
Today it means
verb Of a student, to fail a class; to not pass.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / flunk