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pungle

verb
pun·​gle | \ ˈpəŋ-gəl How to pronounce pungle (audio) \
pungled; pungling\ ˈpəŋ-​g(ə-​)liŋ How to pronounce pungling (audio) \

Definition of pungle

transitive verb

: to make a payment or contribution of (money) —usually used with up

intransitive verb

: pay, contribute —usually used with up

Did You Know?

Pungle is from the Spanish word pongale, meaning "put it down," which itself is from poner, meaning "to put" or "to place," or more specifically "to contribute money." The earliest uses of "pungle" are from the 1850s and are in reference to anteing up in games of chance. It did not take long for the word to be used in other contexts. It was in Huckleberry Finn's deadbeat dad's vocabulary: "I'll make [Judge Thatcher] pungle, too, or I'll know the reason why," Huck quotes his father in Mark Twain's famous novel. Nowadays, "pungle" is mainly used in the western part of the United States.

First Known Use of pungle

1851, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

History and Etymology for pungle

Spanish póngale put it down

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