*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of putt

Borrowed from Scots putt (“to put”). Compare Middle Dutch putten (“to dig a pit”). The Old English putian (“to push; thrust; put; place”) derivation is commonly assumed, although no longer valid. In Dutch, the word is in

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

The act of tapping a golf ball lightly on a putting green.

verb

To lightly strike a golf ball with a putter.

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

Borrowed from Scots putt (“to put”). Compare Middle Dutch putten (“to dig a pit”). The Old English putian (“to push; thrust; put; place”) derivation is commonly assumed, although no longer valid. In Dutch, the word is instanced in a description of golf in an early seventeenth-century edition of Pieter van Afferden's Tyrocinium linguae latinae. All derive from Proto-Germanic *putōną.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sco",
        "3": "putt",
        "t": "to put"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots putt (“to put”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "dum",
        "2": "putten",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to dig a pit"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch putten (“to dig a pit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "putian",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to push; thrust; put; place"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English putian (“to push; thrust; put; place”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*putōną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *putōną"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "putt",
      "putt#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "putten",
      "putten#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "putian",
      "putian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*putōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/putōną"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The act of tapping a golf ball lightly on a putting green."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "445b9cd0183b62b46785fa03e449c9e3926adc3042d5b6d854ad580fb752e307",
      "rawRecordSha256": "5ae20a414b5ce0225277e22bbe6b5aadb2bdc43cc8d55b272d096e92a401a327",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 161461
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To lightly strike a golf ball with a putter."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "aac7848ddd520b71df492cc1e384973389960426383dc739f1b1a631949191c5",
      "rawRecordSha256": "1d941f612becca26a168ce2a90e2d45f0bf47458ea854c3f6af490e9d92efbf2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 161462
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A regular sound characterized by the sound of "putt putt putt putt...", such as made by some slowly stroking internal combustion engines. · A motorcycle.

verb

To make a putting sound. · To ride one's motorcycle, to go for a motorcycle ride. · To move along slowly.

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

Onomatopoeic, from putt-putt.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "onomatopoeic",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Onomatopoeic"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "putt-putt",
      "putt-putt#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A regular sound characterized by the sound of \"putt putt putt putt...\", such as made by some slowly stroking internal combustion engines.",
        "A motorcycle."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "onomatopoeic",
        "UK",
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "0a944e8166799de11bf0d7eb38b2d78263b99263ee0b23f916804e525a030be1",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a22e09d5c7b1e59a8248c8cf532e7461adf92593c2ba6a0d231f71bccf785a2b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 161463
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make a putting sound.",
        "To ride one's motorcycle, to go for a motorcycle ride.",
        "To move along slowly."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "adb89f7138acef2c025f01323a71d0dabc4476907703ea5d10d2194f0699bf30",
      "rawRecordSha256": "dbb072716e7bbeb3eebda17ad3b46b4c3c37003d6568df7a1d924e4056bf4b90",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 161464
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

Small cart.

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

Probable variant of pot (“vessel”) or butt (“cask”).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "pot",
      "pot#English"
    ],
    [
      "butt",
      "butt#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Small cart."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "5a3da7a7e1a96a1cf512f22dd0fa32131ca894b5f198c32db06ddbbbb27d5399",
      "rawRecordSha256": "78920b6b5cffc8f322a083c96e391598eac3b9b9d0ae2a0879efc5ad318ac5b0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 161466
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "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 putt →

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-cHV0dA