dank

Etymology 1

From Middle English danke (“wet, damp; dampness, moisture”), probably from North Germanic, related to Swedish dank (“marshy spot”), Icelandic dökk (“pool”), Old Norse dǫkk (“pit, depression”), from Proto-Germanic *dankwaz (“dark”). However, some trace it to a West Germanic source such as Dutch damp (“vapor”) or Middle High German damph, both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dampaz (“smoke, steam, vapor”).

adj

1. Dark, damp and humid.
   The dank cave was chilly and spooky.
   Cheerless watches on the cold, dank ground. 1835, Richard Chenevix Trench, The Story of Justin Martyr
   Who were the strugglers, what war did they wage, / Whose savage trample thus could pad the dank / Soil to a plash? … 1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section XXII
   It's a world away from the dank and uninviting St Pancras that British Rail wanted to tear down in the 1960s. November 30 2022, Nick Brodrick, “Pride and innovation shine at St Pancras”, in RAIL, number 971, page 69
2. (figurative, of marijuana) Moist and sticky, (by extension) highly potent.
   That was dank bud.
3. (slang, often ironic) Great, awesome.
   His house organ Breitbart and a host of Trump-right websites and news outlets sang praises to his dank genius. 2018, January 5, Rick Wilson, “Bannon Banished for Telling Truths About Trump as MAGA Monsters Turn on Each Other”, in The Daily Beast

noun

1. Moisture; humidity; water.
2. (slang) Strong, high-quality cannabis.
   Smoking mids will get you about three times higher than shwag, and same for dank—it'll be about six times higher than smoking some mids. 2015, Scott Jacques, Richard Wright, Code of the Suburb, page 9

Etymology 2

From Middle English danken, from the adjective (see above).

verb

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To moisten, dampen; used of mist, dew etc.

Etymology 3

noun

1. (historical) A small silver coin formerly used in Persia.