spanking

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈspæŋkɪŋ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From spank (“to move energetically”) +‎ -ing.

Verb

spanking

1. present participle of spank

Adjective

spanking (not comparable)

1. Fast and energetic.

   a spanking pace

   • 1904–1907 (date written), James Joyce, “The Dead”, in Dubliners, London: Grant Richards, published June 1914, →OCLC:

     I'd like nothing better this minute, said Mr Browne stoutly, than a rattling fine walk in the country or a fast drive with a good spanking goer between the shafts.

   • 1939 July, “Overseas Railways: Baltic Island Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 51:

     On both the Gothland and the Öland Railway, a spanking railcar provides an alternative to riding in the wayward, steam-driven mixed train, but the latter is the proper conveyance for a real railway lover, even over the flat, limestone plains which form much of the Baltic island scenery.

2. (often nautical) Brisk and fresh.

   a spanking breeze

Synonyms

• striking

Adverb

spanking (not comparable)

1. (colloquial, now usually with “new”) An intensifier.

   brand spanking new

   a spanking good time

   spanking clean

   spanking white

Derived terms

• spankingly
• spanking new

Etymology 2

From spank (“to punish by swatting”) +‎ -ing (participial suffix) and -ing (gerundial suffix).

Verb

spanking

1. present participle of spank

Noun

spanking (countable and uncountable, plural spankings)

1. (uncountable) A form of physical punishment in which a beating is applied to the buttocks.

   Domestic spanking is often endured over the knee (or lap), formal spanking rather applied over a contraption such as a trestle or A-frame, with or without constraints.

2. (countable) An incident of such punishment, or such physical act in a non-punitive context, such as a birthday spanking.
   • 2001, John Rosemond, John Rosemond's New Parent Power!:

     Some people think spankings of any sort constitute child abuse.

Translations

form of physical punishment

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 打屁股 (zh) (dǎpìgu)

• Czech: výprask m, nářez m
• Dutch: billenkoek (nl), pak voor de broek n, voor de billen geven n
• Finnish: piiskaus (fi)
• French: fessée (fr) f
• German: Haue (de) f
• Hindi: पिटाई (hi) (piṭāī)
• Hungarian: elfenekelés (hu)
• Indonesian: menggebuk (id)
• Irish: greadadh ar na mása m
• Italian: sculacciata (it), totò (Slang)
• Japanese: 尻叩き (ja) (しりたたき, shiritataki)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: surra (pt) f, sova (pt) f, coça (pt) f
• Romanian: strașnic (ro)
• Russian: шлёпание n (šljópanije), по́рка (ru) f (pórka)
• Sanskrit: ताडन (sa) (tādana)
• Scottish Gaelic: skelpin
• Spanish: nalgada (es), (imprecise) azotado (es) f, azotaina (es)
• Swedish: smisk (sv) n
• Tagalog: palo sa puwit

an incident of such an act, also in a non-punitive context

• Dutch: billenkoek (nl), pak voor de broek n
• Finnish: piiskaus (fi)
• French: fessée (fr) f
• Norman: latteuse f, fouôtée f
• Russian: по́рка (ru) f (pórka), трёпка (ru) (trjópka), взбучка (ru) (vzbučka)

References

• “spanking”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “spanking”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “spanking”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “spanking”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “spanking”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.