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pet

Etymology and origin of the English word pet

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Pet, an animal kept for company, and pet, a fit of sulking, are probably different words, both of uncertain origin.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

pet1 animal

Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1508
Ultimate origin
Scottish Gaelic (peata)

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[3][1] It began as a Scottish and northern English word, and Hoad and Word Origins derive it from Gaelic, comparing Scottish Gaelic and Irish peata “tame animal”.[2][5][3] Barnhart and MWU suggest a connection with petty, Middle English pety “small”.[1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

An indulged child: 1508 in the OED, MWU and Barnhart.[7][6][1] An animal kept as a favourite is from 1539, perhaps the primary sense, and in early use it was typically a lamb reared by hand.[7][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The word was used only in Scotland and the north of England until the mid-18th century,[3][5] when it spread south to any animal kept for company.[5] A favourite person is from 1755,[7] and a term of endearment from 1849.[7] The adjective, kept as a pet, is from 1584,[7][6] and pet of a thing, favourite, as in pet project, from 1826.[7] The verb, to treat as a pet, is from 1629,[7][1] to stroke from 1818,[1][3] and the slang “to kiss and caress” from 1920.[3]

Timeline

  • 1508 – an indulged child.[7]
  • 1539 – a pet animal.[7]
  • 1584 – adjective.[7]
  • 1629 – verb, to indulge.[7]
  • 1818 – to stroke.[1]
  • 1920 – to kiss and caress.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An animal kept at home for company or pleasure.
  2. A person treated as a favourite.
  3. (British, informal) A term of affection.

Adjective

  1. Kept as a pet: a pet rabbit.
  2. Specially liked or cared about: a pet subject.

Verb

  1. To stroke an animal or person gently.
  2. (informal) To kiss and touch sexually.

pet2 sulk

Confidence
Unknown
First attested
1590

Etymology

It is of unknown origin.[2][6][1] It may be from pet “indulged child”, as the sulking of a spoiled child,[3] but the OED notes that it seems to have been a southern English word, while the other pet was northern.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Offence at being slighted, in the phrase take the pet: 1590 in the OED and Barnhart, the 1580s in Etymonline.[7][1][3]

Semantic evolution

In a pet is from 1647.[1] Pettish, peevish, is from the 16th century.[2]

Timeline

  • 1590 – take the pet.[7][1]
  • 1647 – in a pet.[1]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A fit of bad temper or sulking.
  • petty
  • pettish

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  2. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Pet.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/pet. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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