putt

Etymology

It began as a Scottish variant, in spelling and pronunciation, of put,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} and in the golfing sense it is now usually kept apart from that word.^[2] The older verb goes back to Middle English putten and late Old English *putian (“to thrust, push, shove”);^[3] the American Heritage Dictionary instead takes the Middle English verb as a back-formation from *pūtte, past tense of pȳtan (“to put out”).^[5] The noun comes from the verb, or from the same source as the verb;^[2][9] the Oxford Dictionary of English dates it to the mid-17th century, originally in Scots.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In this spelling the Scottish verb first meant to push, shove or butt, in the 1510s, a sense now obsolete.^[3][4] The golfing sense, to strike the ball gently so that it rolls into the hole, is first recorded in 1690, in the Seafield correspondence;^[2] Etymonline and Barnhart date it to 1743, Barnhart from the earliest use of putter.^[3][9]

Semantic evolution

Scottish putt was also used from 1724 for throwing a heavy stone as a test of strength, the sense that survives in putting the shot.^[3][4] Barnhart notes that putting, pushing or thrusting, is found before 1398, probably in association with the older putting of the stone (about 1300).^[9] The noun had the sense "a push, a thrust", at first figuratively, in the 1660s,^[3] and the golfing noun, a gentle stroke on the green, is recorded from before 1754, in Thomas Mathison's poem The Goff.^[2][6] The club called a putter is recorded from 1783,^[2] and the putting green from 1841, also in Scotland.^[9]

Timeline

• 1690 – verb, in golf, to strike the ball gently along the green toward the hole.^[2] Etymonline and Barnhart date the golfing sense to 1743.^[3][9]
• 1724 – verb, to throw a heavy stone.^[3]
• before 1754 – noun, a gentle stroke made to roll the ball into the hole.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates it to about 1754.^[6]
• 1783 – putter, the club used for putting.^[2]
• 1841 – putting green.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. In golf, a light stroke made on or near the green to roll the ball into or close to the hole.^[7][6][2]

Verb

1. To strike a golf ball with such a stroke, usually with a putter: She putted the ball into the cup from ten feet.^[7][6][2]
2. To play a putt.^[6][2]

Word family

• putter
• putting green

Related words

• put

Usage notes

Two unrelated dialect words share the spelling: putt, a small farm cart, especially for manure (from 1313), of uncertain origin,^[2][6] and putt, a wicker basket set in weirs on the Severn and the Wye to trap salmon (from 1610), probably a variant of pot or butt.^[2][10] The golfing verb and noun are still sometimes spelled put.^[11]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
11. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House