buck English · revision 13408

− It is [[inh|ang|bucca|t=male goat]] (before 830, in the Vespasian Psalter),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[m|gem-pro|*bukkōn]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) cognate with Old Saxon buck, Dutch bok, German Bock and Old Norse bukkr.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It is perhaps from an Indo-European word also seen in Avestan būza- and Armenian buc “lamb”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) though some think it comes from a lost pre-Germanic language,^(Etymonline) and Merriam-Webster notes the similar Celtic words (Old Irish boc), perhaps by borrowing.^(MWU 2024) Barnhart regards the often-cited Old English buc “male deer” as a ghost word.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)