English word origin

Etymology of pun

From Middle English ponnen, ponen, punen, from Old English punian, pūnian (“to pound, beat, bray, bruise, crush, grind”), from Proto-Germanic *punōną (“to break to pieces, pulverize”). See pound. As a kind of word play,

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

A joke or type of wordplay in which similar definitions or sounds of two words or phrases, or different definitions of the same word, are deliberately confused.

verb

To beat; strike with force; to ram; to pound, as in a mortar; reduce to powder, to pulverize. · To make or tell a pun; to make a play on words.

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 mentionponnenenm
Inherited-form mentionpunianang
Derivation mention*punōnągem-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "en",
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        "3": "ponnen"
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    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "punian"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English punian"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
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        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*punōną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to break to pieces, pulverize"
      },
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    }
  ],
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      "ponnen",
      "ponnen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "ponen",
      "ponen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "punen",
      "punen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "punian",
      "punian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "pūnian",
      "punian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "pound",
      "pound#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "beat",
      "beat#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "bray",
      "bray"
    ],
    [
      "bruise",
      "bruise#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "crush",
      "crush#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "grind",
      "grind#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "*punōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/punōną"
    ],
    [
      "pulverize",
      "pulverize"
    ],
    [
      "pound",
      "pound#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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        "To make or tell a pun; to make a play on words."
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        "transitive",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Alternative form of bun (“Korean unit of measure”).

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

From the McCune-Reischauer romanization of Korean 분 (bun), from Chinese 分 (“fen”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Unspecified derivation mention분ko
Unspecified derivation mention分zh

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

A certain number of cowries, generally 80.

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

From Hindi [Term?].

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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 pun →

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-cHVu