Meaning

noun an aggressive and violent young criminal

noun substance that smolders when ignited; used to light fuses (especially fireworks)

noun material for starting a fire

originUncertain. Possibly from punk (“rotten wood dust used as tinder”), attested since 1678, to anything worthless (attested since 1869) and then to any undesirable person (since 1908). The relatively tame 21st century usage of punk (“prank”, verb) was popularized by the American television show Punk'd (2003).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0