puck

puck · noun¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*pūkô“a goblin, spook”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*pūkō
3. Old English · inherited frompūca“goblin, demon”
4. Middle English · inherited frompouke
5. English todaypuck

From Middle English pouke, from Old English pūca (“goblin, demon”), from Proto-West Germanic *pūkō, from Proto-Germanic *pūkô (“a goblin, spook”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Old Norse púki (“devil”) (dialectal Swedish puke). Doublet of pooka.

puck · verb, noun²

1. Irish · derived frompoc“stroke in hurling, bag”
2. English todaypuck

From or influenced by Irish poc (“stroke in hurling, bag”). Compare poke (1861).

puck · noun³

1. Irish · derived frompoc“male adult goat, billy goat”
2. English todaypuck

From the Irish poc (“male adult goat, billy goat”). Doublet of buck.

puck · noun⁴

Blend of pike + tuck.

Puck · proper noun⁵

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)pāug(')-“brilliance, spectre”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*pūkô“a goblin, spook”
3. Old English · inherited frompūca“goblin, demon”
4. Middle English · inherited frompouke
5. English todayPuck

From puck (“mischievous spirit”), from Middle English pouke, from Old English pūca (“goblin, demon”), from Proto-Germanic *pūkô (“a goblin, spook”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pāug(')- (“brilliance, spectre”). Cognate with Icelandic púki, dialectal Swedish puke (“devil”), Middle Low German spūk (“apparition, ghost”), German Spuk (“a haunting”). More at spook.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 10th c. A mischievous or hostile spirit.
• from 19th c. To hit, strike.
• from 19th c. A hard rubber disc; any other flat disc meant to be hit across a flat surface in a game.
• from 20th c. An object shaped like a puck.
• from 20th c. A pointing device with a crosshair.