Spŭnk, n.
n. [Written also spunk.] [Gael. spong, Ir. sponc, tinder, sponge; A-S. sponge, a sponge, spōn, spoon, a chip, tinder, touchwood. Cf. SPONGE and PUNK.]
Sense 1. Wood that readily takes fire; touchwood; also, a kind of tinder made from a species of fungus; punk; amadou.
Sense 2. An inflammable temper; spirit; pluck; as, a man of spunk. “A lawless and dangerous set, men of spunk, and spirit, and power, both of mind and body.” [Colloq.] Prof. Wilson.