junk

n. [ Pg. junco junk, rush, L. juncus a bulrush, of which ropes were made in early ages. Cf. Junket. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Pieces of old cable or old cordage, used for making gaskets, mats, swabs, etc., and when picked to pieces, forming oakum for filling the seams of ships. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Old iron, or other metal, glass, paper, etc., bought and sold by junk dealers. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence: Something worthless, or only worth its value as recyclable scrap. [ PJC ]

4. (Naut.) Hard salted beef supplied to ships. [ 1913 Webster ]

Junk bottle , a stout bottle made of thick dark-colored glass. --
Junk dealer, a dealer in old cordage, old metal, glass, etc. --
Junk hook (Whaling), a hook for hauling heavy pieces of blubber on deck. --
Junk ring. (a) A packing of soft material round the piston of a steam engine. (b) A metallic ring for retaining a piston packing in place; (c) A follower. --
Junk shop, a shop where old cordage, and ship's tackle, old iron, old bottles, old paper, etc., are kept for sale. --
Junk vat (Leather Manuf.), a large vat into which spent tan liquor or ooze is pumped. --
Junk wad (Mil.), a wad used in proving cannon; also used in firing hot shot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A fragment of any solid substance; a thick piece. See Chunk. [ Colloq. ] Lowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. same as cast-off. Contrasted with kept, retained, and saved.
Syn. -- cast-off(prenominal), discarded, scrap(prenominal), waste. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n. [ G. Cf. Yonker. ] A young German noble or squire; esp., a member of the aristocratic party in Prussia. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The principles of the aristocratic party in Prussia. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Junketed; p. pr. & vb. n. Junketing. ] To give entertainment to; to feast. [ 1913 Webster ]

The good woman took my lodgings over my head, and was in such a hurry to junket her neighbors. Walpole. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To feast; to banquet; to make an entertainment; -- sometimes applied opprobriously to feasting by public officers at the public cost. [ 1913 Webster ]

Job's children junketed and feasted together often. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Formerly also juncate, fr. It. giuncata cream cheese, made in a wicker or rush basket, fr. L. juncus a rush. See 2d Junk, and cf. Juncate. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A cheese cake; a sweetmeat; any delicate food. [ 1913 Webster ]

How Faery Mab the junkets eat. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Victuals varied well in taste,
And other junkets. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A feast; an entertainment. [ 1913 Webster ]

A new jaunt or junket every night. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A trip made at the expense of an organization of which the traveller is an official, ostensibly to obtain information relevant to one's duties; especially, a trip made by a public official at government expense. The term is sometimes used opprobriously, from a belief that such trips are often taken for private pleasure, and are therefore a waste of public money; as, a congressional junket to a tropical country. [ PJC ]