A messy, sticky, or unpleasant substance that is hard to define precisely; any kind of grimy, slimy, or gooey dirt or residue.
British informal/slang, possibly derived from 'gunk' or related onomatopoetic words. First appeared in British English in the 20th century; the exact origin is uncertain but likely from sound-imitative roots, similar to 'gunk' and 'gunky.'
British slang like 'gunge' perfectly demonstrates how English communities invent totally new words to describe things that feel in-between categories—'gunge' is too specific to be 'dirt' but too vague to be anything else.
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