wonky
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From English dialectal wanky, alteration of Middle English wankel (“unstable, shaky”), from Old English wancol (“unstable”), from Proto-Germanic *wankulaz (“swaying, shaky, unstable”), from Proto-Germanic *wankōnan (“to sway, be unsteady”), from Proto-Indo-European *wa(n)k-, *wek-, *wag-, *weg- (“to swing, be unsteady, slant, be crooked”). Cognate with Scots wankle (“wonky”), Dutch wankel (“shaky”), German Wankelmut (“fickleness, inconstancy, vacillation”), Danish vanke (“to wander”). See also wankle.
[edit] Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA: /ˈwɔːŋ.kɪ/, SAMPA: /"wO:N.kI/
- (US) enPR: wŏngʹkē, IPA: /ˈwɑŋ.ki/, /ˈwɔŋ.ki/, SAMPA: /"wAN.ki/, /wON.ki/
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒŋki
[edit] Adjective
wonky (comparative wonkier, superlative wonkiest)
- (chiefly UK and Australian) Lopsided, misaligned or off-centre.
- (chiefly UK and Australian) Feeble, shaky or rickety.
- (computing, especially Usenet) Suffering from intermittent bugs; broken.
- Generally incorrect.
[edit] Synonyms
- (lopsided, misaligned): awry, lonkie, skew-whiff
