Spunk
Spunk (spunk) , noun
[Gael. spong, or Ir. sponc, tinder, sponge; compare Anglo-Saxon sponge a sponge (Latin spongia), spōn a chip. Compare Sponge, Punk.]
1.
Wood that readily takes fire; touchwood; also, a kind of tinder made from a species of fungus; punk; amadou. — Sir T. Browne
2.
An inflammable temper; spirit; mettle; pluck; as, a man of spunk. [Colloquial]
A lawless and dangerous set, men of spunk, and spirit, and power, both of mind and body.