Etymology

chock full

Today it means: Containing the maximum amount possible, flush on all sides, jam-packed, crammed. Full definition →

Middle English chokkeful ← Old French choquier
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Old French · derived fromchoquier“collide, crash, hit”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromchokkeful“crammed full”
  3. English todaychock full

From Middle English chokkeful (“crammed full”) c. 1400, possibly from choke (“cheek”), equivalent to cheek + full. Or it may be from Old French choquier (“collide, crash, hit”), similar to shock. The later form chock-a-block full is due to association with chock, used in carpentry and shipbuilding.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.