*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of putty

Borrowed from French potée (“polishing powder", originally "the contents of a pot, potful”), from French pot (“pot”). More at English pot.

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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A form of cement, made from linseed oil and whiting, used to fixate panes of glass. · An oxide of tin, or of lead and tin, used in polishing glass, etc. · A fine cement of lime only, used by plasterers. · A golf ball made of composition and not gutta-percha.

verb

To fix or fill using putty.

adj

Of, pertaining to, or resembling putty.

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

Borrowed from French potée (“polishing powder", originally "the contents of a pot, potful”), from French pot (“pot”). More at English pot.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Borrowed-form mentionpotéefr · polishing powder", originally "the contents of a pot, potful
  • Derivation mentionpotfr · pot
  • Cognate mentionpoten
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "potée",
        "t": "polishing powder\", originally \"the contents of a pot, potful"
      },
      "expansion": "French potée (“polishing powder\", originally \"the contents of a pot, potful”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "pot",
        "t": "pot"
      },
      "expansion": "French pot (“pot”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pot"
      },
      "expansion": "English pot"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "potée",
      "potée#French"
    ],
    [
      "pot",
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    ],
    [
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      "pot#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A form of cement, made from linseed oil and whiting, used to fixate panes of glass.",
        "An oxide of tin, or of lead and tin, used in polishing glass, etc.",
        "A fine cement of lime only, used by plasterers.",
        "A golf ball made of composition and not gutta-percha."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable",
        "colloquial"
      ],
      "recordId": "b12c1c8d5d40840d091c5b657e6b42c48a3d64e6e3a15de93a86ba184dc017ec",
      "rawRecordSha256": "0ba45d170def6a30ba46ca9eed8ad44825d06766f0b875d95be45dffe85377d4",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 461350
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To fix or fill using putty."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "e0eb864a6fa65ccc048fd7def6a571e95246fd2e0c56f4e1627b565b3b4ce0fb",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7c9214798fad6244d03f3af680d4247e371b6691e2d9e3ea4ec1a32cecd6aea5",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 461352
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Of, pertaining to, or resembling putty."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "e932ebcfb20435575806e2a3888109799e6bfe80d6fbb660bfaeefcd06fd3fac",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c30537620036ffa96e44a66d1200cff69b3f750b9045b4eac4c9565cd2f0bb33",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 461351
    }
  ],
  "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 putty →

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-cHV0dHk