poke

poke · verb, noun¹

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*pauk-
2. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*pukōn
3. Middle Low German · derived frompoken
4. Middle Dutch · derived frompoken
5. Middle English · inherited frompoken
6. English todaypoke

From Middle English poken, perhaps from Middle Dutch poken or Middle Low German poken, both from Proto-West Germanic *pukōn or similar, which is itself of uncertain origin, but may be from an imitative Proto-Germanic root *puk-. Doublet of poach. Compare Nordic cognates Swedish påka (“to poke, muck with a stick”), påk (“club, limb; dagger”), pykel (“small poker”), dialectal Norwegian pauka (“to walk stomping, etc”), pauk (“weak, slow person”). Central European noun-cognates refer to “dagger, bad knife, poker (for a fireplace)”, with analog verbs. To a Proto-Germanic *pauk-, *puk-, meaning, “to stick, muck with a stick”.

poke · noun²

1. Frankish · derived from*poka
2. Anglo-Norman · derived frompoke
3. Middle English · inherited frompoke
4. English todaypoke

From Middle English poke, from Anglo-Norman poke (whence pocket), from Frankish *poka. More at pocket. Doublet of pouch. First attested in the early 13th c.

poke · noun³

1. Powhatan · borrowed frompocan
2. English todaypoke

Clipping of pocan (“pokeweed”) or directly borrowed from Powhatan pocan. See pocan for more.

poke · noun⁴

1. Hawaiian · borrowed frompoke
2. English todaypoke

Borrowed from Hawaiian poke (literally “to cut crosswise into pieces”).

Poke · noun⁵

Clipping of Pokémon

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from late 14th c. To prod or jab with an object such as a finger or a stick.
• from early 19th c. To rummage; to feel or grope around.
• from early 13th c. A sack or bag, especially a paper bag.