puke

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bew-“to blow, swell”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*pukaną“to spit, puff”
3. English todaypuke

Probably imitative; or, alternatively related to Proto-Germanic *pukaną (“to spit, puff”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”). If so, then related to German pfauchen, fauchen (“to hiss, spit”), Dutch spugen (“to spit, spit up”), German spucken (“to spit, puke, throw up”), and Old English spīwan (“to vomit, spit”). More at spew. Attested as early as 1581, first mention is the derivative pukishness (“the tendency to be sick frequently”). In 1600, "to spit up, regurgitate", recorded in the Seven Ages of Man speech in Shakespeare's As You Like It.

Words from the same roots