Meaning

noun the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up

noun any of various Chinese boats with a high poop and lugsails

verb dispose of (something useless or old)

originFrom earlier meaning "old refuse from boats and ships", from Middle English junk, jounke, jonk, joynk (“an old cable or rope”, nautical term), sometimes cut into bits and used as caulking; of uncertain origin; perhaps related to join, joint, juncture. Often compared to Middle English junk, jonk, jonke, junck (“a rush; basket made of rushes”), from Old French jonc, from Latin iuncus (“rush,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0