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peter

Etymology and origin of the English word peter

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English has two words spelled peter: the verb of peter out, of unknown origin, and slang nouns taken from the name Peter.[1][2]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈpiː.tə/, US /ˈpiː.t̬ɚ/[3]

peter1 dwindle

Confidence
Unknown
Formation
Coinage
First attested
1812

Etymology

The verb meaning “to dwindle” is of unknown origin.[4][5][6] Etymonline calls it colloquial and of uncertain origin,[7] and the SOED compares the noun from the name Peter for some of its senses.[2] Green suggests either the phrase peter out itself or French péter “to explode weakly”, though the cant verb appears earlier.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

“To cease, stop”: 1812, as slang,[9][7][6] with a cant use from 1753 meaning “hold your tongue”, among other things.[8]

Semantic evolution

Peter out, “to become exhausted, give out”, is American miners' slang from 1846, at first of a vein of ore.[6][7][2] From mining it spread to anything that diminishes gradually and comes to an end.[10][4]

Timeline

  • 1753 – cant, to stop.[8]
  • 1812 – to cease, stop.[9][6]
  • 1846 – peter out, of a mine.[6][7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. Usually peter out: to diminish gradually and come to an end; to dwindle.
  2. To become exhausted.

peter2 from the name Peter

Confidence
Established
Formation
Eponym
First attested
1665
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (Πέτρος)

Etymology

The nouns are from the name Peter,[1][11] from Late Latin Petrus, from Ancient Greek Πέτρος (Pétros), from πέτρος (pétros, “stone, rock”),[12][7] a translation of Syriac kefa “stone”, Latinized as Cephas, the name Jesus gave to the apostle Simon.[7] The name was used in many transferred senses in English from late Middle English.[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

In thieves' cant, a portmanteau, trunk or bundle: 1665, in Head's English Rogue,[8] 1668 in the OED.[9]

Semantic evolution

A safe, cash box or till is criminals' slang from 1859,[9] and a peterman was a safe-breaker.[8] The penis is slang from 1870 in Green,[8] and 1902 in Etymonline and the New Partridge,[7][13] probably from the first syllable.[7] In American tramps' slang a peter was also drugged liquor, a knockout drop.[8] In bridge, a peter is a signal to one's partner, from blue peter, the signal flag for sailing.[1][11]

Timeline

  • 1665 – a trunk or bundle (cant).[8]
  • 1859 – a safe or till.[9]
  • 1870 – the penis.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (slang) A safe or cash box; formerly, a trunk or bundle.
  2. (slang, often vulgar) The penis.
  3. In bridge, a signal for a partner to continue a suit.

Word family

  • peterman
  • Peter
  • petrify
  • petroleum
  • petrous
  • blue peter

Usage notes

The name Peter was very common among Christians;[7] its usual medieval English form was Peres or Piers.[7] The phrase rob Peter to pay Paul is from about 1400,[9][7] and the Peter principle, that employees rise to the level of their incompetence, from 1968, after Laurence J. Peter.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  2. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  11. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  12. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  13. ^ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
Cite this entry

“Peter.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/peter. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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