pump

pump · noun, verb¹

1. Middle Low German · derived frompumpe“pump”
2. Middle Dutch · derived frompompe“pipe, water conduit”
3. Middle English · inherited frompumpe
4. English todaypump

From Middle English pumpe, possibly from Middle Dutch pompe (“pipe, water conduit”) or Middle Low German pumpe (“pump”), probably ultimately imitative. Compare Dutch pompen, German pumpen, and Danish pompe; also Spanish bomba (“pump”).

pump · noun²

1. Arabic · derived fromبَابُوش
2. Persian · derived fromپاپوش
3. Javanese · borrowed frompampus
4. Dutch · derived frompampoesje
5. English todaypump

The etymology of the term is unclear and disputed. One possibility is that it comes from pomp (“ornamentation”). Another is that it refers to the sound made by the foot moving inside the shoe when dancing. The Oxford English Dictionary claims that it appeared in the 16th century, and lists its origin as "obscure". It has also been linked to the Dutch pampoesje, possibly borrowed from Javanese pampus, ultimately from Persian پاپوش (pâpuš), borrowed from Arabic بَابُوش (bābūš).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 16th c. To use a pump; to move (water or other liquid) by means of a pump.
• 16th–19th c. To put (a person or part of the body) under a stream of water from a pump, as a punishment or as a form of medical treatment; to force a pump of water upon or on someone.
• from 17th c. To gain something, especially information, from (a person) by persistent questioning.
• from 18th c. To have sex with; to sexually penetrate, especially with a thrusting motion.
• from 19th c. To express milk from (a breast) by means of a breast pump.
• from 19th c. To fill with air by means of a pump; to inflate.
• from 19th c. To move rhythmically, as the motion of a pump.
• from 20th c. To enlarge the body by means of weightlifting or steroid use.