English word origin

Etymology of puck

From Middle English pouke, from Old English pūca (“goblin, demon”), from Proto-West Germanic *pūkō, from Proto-Germanic *pūkô (“a goblin, spook”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Old Norse púki (“devil”) (dialectal Swe

5 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 5 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 mischievous or hostile spirit. · The mischievous fairy-like creature from English folklore, like Puck from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionpoukeenm
Inherited-form mentionpūcaang
Inherited-form mention*pūkōgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*pūkôgem-pro
Cognate mentionpúkinon
Cognate mentionpukesv
Doublet mentionpookaen

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "pouke",
        "4": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English pouke"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "pūca",
        "4": "",
        "5": "goblin, demon"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English pūca (“goblin, demon”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*pūkō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *pūkō"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*pūkô",
        "4": "",
        "5": "a goblin, spook"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "púki",
        "3": "",
        "4": "devil"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse púki (“devil”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "puke"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish puke"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pooka"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of pooka"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "pouke",
      "pouke#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "pūca",
      "puca#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*pūkō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/pūkō"
    ],
    [
      "*pūkô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/pūkô"
    ],
    [
      "púki",
      "púki#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "puke",
      "puke#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "pooka",
      "pooka#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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    {
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        "A mischievous or hostile spirit.",
        "The mischievous fairy-like creature from English folklore, like Puck from Shakespeare's \"A Midsummer Night's Dream\"."
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        "archaic"
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Source etymology 2 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗

noun

A hard rubber disc; any other flat disc meant to be hit across a flat surface in a game. · An object shaped like a puck. · A pointing device with a crosshair. · A penalty shot.

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

From or influenced by Irish poc (“stroke in hurling, bag”). Compare poke (1861).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Derivation mentionpocga

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "poc",
      "poc#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "poke",
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    ]
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  "descendants": [
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      "lang_code": "cs",
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      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
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      "lang_code": "da",
      "word": "puck",
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      "lang_code": "nl",
      "word": "puck",
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        "borrowed"
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    },
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      "lang_code": "de",
      "word": "Puck",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "lang_code": "no",
      "word": "puck",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "lang_code": "ro",
      "word": "puc",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "lang_code": "sh",
      "word": "puk / pak",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "lang_code": "sk",
      "word": "puk",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
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      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "word": "puck",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "word": "puck",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
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      "lang": "Turkish",
      "lang_code": "tr",
      "word": "pak",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
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        "A hard rubber disc; any other flat disc meant to be hit across a flat surface in a game.",
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        "A pointing device with a crosshair.",
        "A penalty shot."
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Source etymology 2 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗

verb

To hit, strike.

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

From or influenced by Irish poc (“stroke in hurling, bag”). Compare poke (1861).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Derivation mentionpocga

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "poc",
      "poc#Irish"
    ],
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      "poke",
      "poke#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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      "glosses": [
        "To hit, strike."
      ],
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      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

billy goat

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

From the Irish poc (“male adult goat, billy goat”). Doublet of buck.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Derivation mentionpocga
Doublet mentionbucken

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "en",
        "2": "ga",
        "3": "poc",
        "4": "",
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      },
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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "buck"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of buck"
    }
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      "poc#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "buck",
      "buck#English"
    ]
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗

noun

A body position between the pike and tuck positions, with knees slightly bent and folded in; open tuck.

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

Blend of pike + tuck.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Blend componentpikeen
Blend componenttucken

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    }
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    [
      "pike",
      "pike#English"
    ],
    [
      "tuck",
      "tuck#English"
    ]
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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 puck →

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-cHVjaw