(dē-bŭngkˈ)
transitive verb de·bunked,
de·bunk·ing,
de·bunks To expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of: debunk a supposed miracle drug.
Related Forms:
Word History: One can readily see that
debunk is constructed from the prefix
de-, meaning “to remove,” and the word
bunk. But what is the origin of the word
bunk, denoting the nonsense that is to be removed?
Bunk came from a place where much bunk has originated, the United States Congress. During the 16th Congress (1819-1821) Felix Walker, a representative from western North Carolina whose district included Buncombe County, carried on with a dull speech in the face of protests by his colleagues. Walker later explained he had felt obligated “to make a speech for Buncombe.” Such a masterful symbol for empty talk could not be ignored by the speakers of the language, and
Buncombe, spelled
Bunkum in its first recorded appearance in 1828 and later shortened to
bunk, became synonymous with
claptrap. The response to all this bunk seems to have been delayed, for
debunk is not recorded until 1923.
