Dunkin

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Pushing bread, biscuits or other food briefly into a drink such as coffee or tea ; forcing a basketball downward through the hoop from above the rim
2. Briefly submerging a snack into a beverage so it softens ; slamming a ball straight down through the basket in a game of basketball
3. Quickly plunging a piece of food into a cup of liquid ; dropping a basketball powerfully through the net from directly above the rim

Etymology: The verb "dunk," meaning to dip food, especially bread, into a liquid, is first recorded in the 19th century. Its origin is uncertain, possibly a dialect word, and no firm source has been found. The "-in'" ending is just the informal spelling of the present participle, so "dunkin'" means "dunking," like "fishin'" for "fishing." The verb is best known through a doughnut chain. In 1950, William Rosenberg, who had founded his business in Quincy, Massachusetts, renamed his shops Dunkin' Donuts. The name was meant to encourage customers to dip their doughnuts in coffee, so the brand's "dunk" carries the same sense as the older verb.