Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To leap or bound high in the air with the legs straight and the back arched, as do certain animals, especially the springbok.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb of quadrupeds To
jump with all fourlimbs at once. - noun A
gait or a leap in which all four legs are used to push off the ground at once.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb jump straight up
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Rep. William Cummings (D-VA) defends his use of the slang word "pronk" as a legitimate catchphrase.
WN.com - Articles related to Withdraw Nuclear Liability Bill: BJP 2010
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Rep. William Cummings (D-VA) defends his use of the slang word "pronk" as a legitimate catchphrase.
WN.com - Articles related to Withdraw Nuclear Liability Bill: BJP 2010
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Ai is a springbok wiv mai tail in teh air Pronk pronk pronk!
The problem with your gene - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2009
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The warthogs are starting to make friends, the giraffes like me more, and the springbok pronk everyday pronking is when they bounce around as high as they can, it's awesome!
Animal Planet: The Purest Thing I Have Ever Experienced 2008
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Espying and taking nonchalant note of the ram's challenge, he vouchsafed to give forth a midrange snarl, whereupon the suddenly paralyzed ram froze at the end of an advancing pronk, stood tottering on all fours for an instant or two, and proceeded to keel over onto one side in a dead faint, all four legs locked sideways and straight, parallel to the ground.
Into the Thinking Kingdoms Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 1999
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Espying and taking nonchalant note of the ram's challenge, he vouchsafed to give forth a midrange snarl, whereupon the suddenly paralyzed ram froze at the end of an advancing pronk, stood tottering on all fours for an instant or two, and proceeded to keel over onto one side in a dead faint, all four legs locked sideways and straight, parallel to the ground.
Into the Thinking Kingdoms Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 1999
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In Hindeloopen (Friesland) one or two beds in the living-room are kept as 'pronk-bedden' (show beds).
Dutch Life in Town and Country P. M. Hough
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Or we should accept it as an animal that weathered the changes in our nation, still holds its title, and continues to pronk along, but is now representative of a unified nation.
News24 2008
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Or we should accept it as an animal that weathered the changes in our nation, still holds its title, and continues to pronk along, but is now representative of a unified nation.
News24 2008
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Or we should accept it as an animal that weathered the changes in our nation, still holds its title, and continues to pronk along, but is now representative of a unified nation.
News24 2008
jennarenn commented on the word pronk
What an adorable word!!! Could you give an example or a reference?
July 10, 2007
reesetee commented on the word pronk
J, I think it means "to jump straight up" (as opposed to, say, leaping forward). Great word. :-)
July 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word pronk
Antelopes pronk.
July 10, 2007
reesetee commented on the word pronk
Kangaroos pronk.
July 10, 2007
uselessness commented on the word pronk
The L.A. Lakers pronk.
July 10, 2007
reesetee commented on the word pronk
Ibexes pronk.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word pronk
Nice word! I can imagine someone pronking right out of his shoes.
July 10, 2007
perodicticus commented on the word pronk
According to Richard Despard Estes' book The Behavior Guide to African Mammals, only springboks pronk; other antelope stot.
July 10, 2007
reesetee commented on the word pronk
Thanks, perodicticus--learn something new every day. :-)
July 11, 2007
trivet commented on the word pronk
Ditto! Plus, I think I might like stot even better than pronk.
I smell a list...
July 11, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word pronk
I know that pronk isn't technically onomatopoetic, but can't you hear kangaroos making a similar sound in a cartoon? :)
Pronk, pronk, pronk, pronk!
July 11, 2007
reesetee commented on the word pronk
Funny--that's just what I said about stot. Great image, isn't it? :-)
July 11, 2007
john commented on the word pronk
Congress Debates Merits Of New Catchphrase
April 18, 2008
missanthropist commented on the word pronk
Bastard stepchild of when hyphy met dubstep.
July 11, 2008
john commented on the word pronk
See also pronking.
January 11, 2009
reesetee commented on the word pronk
Haha! John, how'd I miss that clip??
January 11, 2009
AnWulf commented on the word pronk
From Afrikaans, literally ‘show off’, from Dutch pronken ‘to strut.’
Thus pronk-bedden are show beds.
November 2, 2011
Gammerstang commented on the word pronk
Seems it can also mean a weak or foolish person. Can't confirm.
January 9, 2018