*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Buck

* For both the English surname and given name, originally a nickname for someone who resembled a buck. * Also as an English topographic surname, from Middle English buk (modern beech). * As a German and Dutch surname, sh

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

An English surname transferred from the nickname. · A male given name from Old English. · A German surname, a variant of Buch. · An unincorporated community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* For both the English surname and given name, originally a nickname for someone who resembled a buck. * Also as an English topographic surname, from Middle English buk (modern beech). * As a German and Dutch surname, shortened from Burkhard, compare Burkhart. * As a north German and Danish surname, from Middle Low German bûk (“belly”), from Old Saxon būk, from Proto-West Germanic *būk, from Proto-Germanic *būkaz. Compare Bauch. * Also as a German and Dutch surname, variant of Bock. * Also as a German surname, variant of Puck. * As a Germanized Lower Sorbian surname, from buk (“beech”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionbukenm
  • Derivation mentionbûkgml · belly
  • Derivation mentionbūkosx
  • Derivation mention*būkgmw-pro
  • Derivation mention*būkazgem-pro

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "buk"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English buk"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "German"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "da",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gml",
        "3": "bûk",
        "t": "belly"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German bûk (“belly”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "osx",
        "3": "būk"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon būk"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*būk"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *būk"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*būkaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *būkaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dsb",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Lower Sorbian"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "buck",
      "buck#English"
    ],
    [
      "buk",
      "buk#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "beech",
      "beech#English"
    ],
    [
      "Burkhard",
      "Burkhard#English"
    ],
    [
      "Burkhart",
      "Burkhart#English"
    ],
    [
      "bûk",
      "buk#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "būk",
      "buk#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "*būk",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/būk"
    ],
    [
      "*būkaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/būkaz"
    ],
    [
      "Bauch",
      "Bauch#English"
    ],
    [
      "Bock",
      "Bock#English"
    ],
    [
      "Puck",
      "Puck#English"
    ],
    [
      "buk",
      "buk#Lower_Sorbian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "An English surname transferred from the nickname.",
        "A male given name from Old English.",
        "A German surname, a variant of Buch.",
        "An unincorporated community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "cf7525bca1bb9d112a2f862cbe80e66b1ca62e5b6347621f2754d764a360bb79",
      "rawRecordSha256": "bf85901c73d6c80c04e540baa1c796c2c9a99a34f21e21403dda47226078e143",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4307951
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 2,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Buck →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-QnVjaw