pocket

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈpɒk.ɪt/, US /ˈpɑː.kɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English pokete, borrowed from Anglo-Norman pokete,^[2][3] a diminutive of Old North French poke, poque “bag”,^[2][3][4] from a Germanic source akin to Frankish *pokka “bag”,^[2] and related to poke “bag”, as in the phrase a pig in a poke.^[3][5][6] Poach, to cook in a bag-like way, probably has the same source.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bag or sack, sometimes a measure of quantity, as of hops or wool: 1280 in the OED,^[7] as the surname Poket in 1210, and as a word 1350 in Barnhart.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A small bag worn on the person, especially one sewn into a garment, is from the early 15th century (about 1430 in the OED).^[2][7] One's money is called one's pocket from 1717,^[2][7] and out of pocket is from the 1690s.^[2] The pockets of a billiard table are from 1754,^[2] a cavity of ore in mining from 1850,^[2] and a nearly surrounded area held by troops from 1918.^[2] The verb, to put in one's pocket, is from 1589,^[7][3] and to take dishonestly for oneself from 1637.^[3][7] The adjective, for or small enough for a pocket, is from 1612.^[3][2] The American pocket veto is from 1842,^[2] and a pocket borough in Britain, controlled by one family, by 1798.^[2]

Timeline

• 1280 – a bag or sack.^[7]
• c. 1430 – a pouch in a garment.^[7]
• 1589 – verb, to put in a pocket.^[7][3]
• 1612 – adjective, for the pocket.^[3]
• 1637 – to appropriate.^[3]
• 1717 – one's money.^[2]
• 1754 – a billiard-table pocket.^[2]
• 1842 – pocket veto.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small bag sewn into or onto a piece of clothing, used for carrying things.
2. A small area or group that is different from what surrounds it: pockets of resistance.
3. One's supply of money: prices to suit every pocket.
4. A bag at the corner or side of a billiards or snooker table.

Verb

1. To put something in one's pocket.
2. To take something, especially money, dishonestly.

Adjective

1. Small enough to carry in a pocket.

Word family

• pocketable
• pocketless
• pocketful
• pocketlike
• pickpocket
• pocketbook
• pocketknife
• air pocket

Related words

• poke
• pouch
• poach

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press