bungie, bungy slang.
(ˈbʌndʒɪ)
Also bunje(e, bunjie, bunjy.
[Origin unknown.]
a. India-rubber; a rubber. b. (A nickname for) a Naval physical-training instructor.
| 1915 ‘Bartimeus’ Tall Ship iv. 75 ‘Bunje,’ said the First Lieutenant, ‘come to the club and have tea and play {oqq}pills{cqq} afterwards?’ The Indiarubber Man shook his head. 1928 E. Scott War among Ladies i. ii. 24 Where's my rubber? Joan, have you pinched my bunjy? 1934 N. & Q. CLXVII. 441/2 In the schoolroom fifty years ago, the piece of india-rubber for erasing purposes was referred to as ‘india-bungie’ or ‘bungie’ — pronounced with the g soft, bunjie. 1958 Listener 6 Nov. 722/2 Any bits and pieces of pencil, string, bungy, and odd nibs. |
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Add: 2. (Usu. attrib., as bungee cord, bungee rope, etc.) an elasticated cord or cable, spec.: a. Aeronaut. (a) An elasticated cord used in launching a glider; (b) any of various springs or elasticated tension devices used in the control system of an aircraft to facilitate movement (esp. of landing gear) or absorb shock.
| 1938 W. Hirth Art of Soaring Flight viii. 116 Bungy-launching, which brings out the team spirit among pilots, later became the standard method of taking-off. 1944 T. Horsley Soaring Flight xxi. 246 When the ‘bunje’ only is being used, the whole procedure will be slower and less effective. 1956 W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 95/2 A bungee is used..in certain aircraft to assist in retracting landing gear. 1977 New Yorker 4 July 40/3 He built the new bungee-cord landing gear for his Champ. 1980 Bent & McKinley Aircraft Maintenance & Repair (ed. 4) xi. 341/1 When in the down-and-locked position and it is desired to retract the gear, the over-center links are released by the hydraulically actuated bungee cylinder to permit gear retraction. 1991 Pilot Nov. 41/2 Cubs are not the easiest of aeroplanes to land tidily. The un-damped bungee springing can lead to a bouncy arrival. |
b. (a) A fabric-bound rubber strap with a hook on either end, used for binding and securing baggage, etc.; (b) the elasticated rope from which a jumper is suspended in bungee jumping (see sense *3 below): orig. U.S.
| 1962 J. Glenn in Into Orbit 150 We added a heavy bungee cord to the equipment in the capsule, and I planned to pull it as far as it would go at certain periods during the flight to see what effect a known amount of exercise would have on my heart. 1970 N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon iii. 56 He had to turn down an Apollo 10 recommendation that the 11 crew carry rubber cords called ‘bungees’ on their flight to hold down papers. 1982 Boxwooder No. 156. 2, I keep a set of bungee cords in the trunk of my car for fastening down suitcases on the luggage rack. 1986 Daily Tel. 19 Nov. 4/4 When he hit the ground he was still attached to the safety harness, and the bungee line was still attached to that. 1991 OnSat 17 Feb. 7/1 Bungie cords can be used as extra tie downs, if needed. |
3. Special Combs. bungee jumping, the action of jumping from a height (as a bridge, precipice, etc.) while secured by an elasticated rope attached to the ankles or to a safety harness; a sport involving this (also as bungee cording, etc.). So bungee jump n. and v. intr., bungee jumper.
| 1979 N.Y. Times 9 Oct. b17/2 Five Britons who call themselves the *‘Bungee Jumpers’ leaped from the Golden Gate Bridge today, their falls broken by thick rubber bands that stopped them short of the water. 1987 Independent 24 Jan. 3/1 His only experience of *bungee jumping was from a height of 40 feet. 1987 Telegraph (Brisbane) 26 June 11/5 A New Zealander bounced back from a headfirst leap from the Eiffel Tower today... He wanted to bring New Zealand's sport of ‘bungy jumping’ to Paris. 1989 Forbes (N.Y.) 30 Oct. 233/3 A. J. Hackett, who operates the two *bungy-jump sites around Queenstown, explains the bungy craze this way: ‘It helps one's self-esteem.’ 1991 Times 5 Oct. (Weekend Times) 4/3 Bungy jumping has its roots on the South Pacific island of Pentecost, where men jump from a wooden tower each April and May, attached only by a vine around the ankle, to encourage the yam harvest. The worldwide bungy cult is worth upwards of {pstlg}500,000 a year. 1992 Texas Monthly Jan. 87/3 James Fedigan of Houston was charged with disorderly conduct for mooning Galveston beach users while bungee jumping from a construction crane platform. |
Hence ˈbungee v. trans. and intr.
| 1988 Sailplane & Gliding Oct.–Nov. 241/2 Bungyed from there one could expect five or six seconds in the air. 1989 Austin Amer.-Statesman 29 Apr. f1/1 It's a long cord you tie to a fixed point... The other end you tie to your feet and then you jump off. You get bungeed up and down. 1992 Daily Tel. 9 Nov. 19/1 They bungee around the hall on elastic ropes. 1992 Sky Mag. (Delta Airlines) Dec. 79 (Advt.), They strapped it on wheels and then bungied accessories to the top of the whole affair. |