paddock

paddock · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*parrukaz“fence; enclosure”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*parruk“enclosure; pen for animals”
3. Old English · inherited frompearroc
4. Middle English · inherited fromparrok
5. English todaypaddock

The noun is almost certainly a variant of dialectal British parrock (“enclosure; park; croft, small field, paddock”), from Middle English parrok, parrock (“enclosed pasture, paddock; coop; feeding stall; cabin, hut”) [and other forms], from Old English pearroc, pearruc (“fence used to enclose a space; area enclosed by such a fence, enclosure”), from Proto-West Germanic *parruk (“enclosure; pen for animals”), from Proto-Germanic *parrukaz (“fence; enclosure”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *barō (“bar, beam; barrier”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“to pierce; to strike”). Equivalent to park + -ock. Doublet of park. The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates * Danish park (“pond”) * Dutch perk (“flowerbed; garden; pen”) * German Pferch (“sheepfold, sheep-pen”)

paddock · noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*bʰew-“to swell”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*paddǭ“toad”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*paddā
4. Old English · inherited from*pada
5. Middle English · inherited frompaddok
6. English todaypaddock

From Middle English paddok, paddoke (“frog; toad”) [and other forms], from pad, pade (“frog; toad”) + -ok (diminutive suffix). Pad, pade is derived from Old English *pada, *padda, padde, from Proto-West Germanic *paddā, from Proto-Germanic *paddǭ (“toad”); further etymology uncertain, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to swell”). The English word is analysable as pad (“(Britain, dialectal) frog; toad”) + -ock (suffix forming nouns, originally with diminutive senses). Sense 2 (“sledge”) is probably from the supposed resemblance of the object to a frog or toad.

Paddock · proper noun³

See paddock.

Words from the same roots