punch English · revision 6026

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pʌntʃ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|hit; tool}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1384|origins=fro ponchonner}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is Middle English punchen, [[bor|fro|ponchonner|t=to punch, prick, stamp]], poinçonner,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from ponchon, poinçon “pointed tool, piercing weapon”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from Vulgar Latin *punctiō, from the past participle stem of [[m|la|pungere|t=to prick, pierce, sting]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from the PIE root [[ine-pro|*pewǵ-|alt=*peuk-|t=to prick]].^(Etymonline) The tool is short for [[puncheon]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) The word thus goes back to the same source as [[point]] and [[poignant]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To poke or prod: about 1384, in the Wycliffe Bible.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To pierce or emboss with a tool is from the early 15th century, 1423 in Barnhart,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and to stab from 1440.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The tool for piercing or stamping is from the late 14th century in Etymonline and 1505 in the OED,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a machine for stamping a die from the 1620s.^(Etymonline) To hit with the fist is first in Palsgrave in 1530;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Etymonline compares Latin pugnāre “to fight with fists”, and suggests influence from [[punish]], spelled punch in 14th–15th-century documents.^(Etymonline) The noun, a blow with the fist, is by the 1570s, 1580 in the OED,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and figuratively forceful quality from 1911.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The punch line (1915) was first a term of popular songwriting, and ''beat someone to the punch'' and ''punch-drunk'' are from 1915.^(Etymonline) To punch cattle, drive them, is a Western American sense,^(Collins 2023)^(AHD) and to punch someone out is from 1971.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1384 – to prod.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1423 – to pierce or stamp.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – to hit with the fist.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1570s – a blow with the fist.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1911 – forceful quality.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1915 – punch line; punch-drunk.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To hit someone or something hard with the [[fist]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make a hole in something with a punch.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To press a key or button: ''punch in the number''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(US)'' To herd cattle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A blow with the fist.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Force or effectiveness: ''the speech lacked punch''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A tool or machine for making holes or stamping a design.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ {{homograph|2|drink}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1600|origins=hi पाँच}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The drink is commonly said to be from [[m|hi|पाँच|tr=pā̃c|t=five]], from Sanskrit [[m|sa|पञ्च|tr=pañca|t=five]] (see [[five]]), for its five ingredients: spirits, water, citrus juice, sugar and spice.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)^(Cresswell 2021) The explanation goes back to John Fryer's account of India (1698),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) but Barnhart and Etymonline note problems: no such drink is known in India before the English word, the early English vowel was the u of put, and the word was in use before the English traded regularly in India.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Hoad gives it as of unknown origin.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ 1600 in MWU and Word Origins, by 1600 in Etymonline;^(MWU 2024)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) 1632 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Distilled spirits became common in England only in the 17th century, when punch also became popular;^(Etymonline) by the 1650s it was called “an Indian drink”, but 17th-century sources link it as often with the West Indies.^(Etymonline) Non-alcoholic fruit punch is a later use.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1600 – punch, the drink.^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1650s – “an Indian drink”.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1698 – Fryer's “five” explanation.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A drink made of fruit juices mixed with [[wine]] or spirits, often hot and spiced, or without alcohol.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[puncheon]]

+ * [[pungent]]

+ * [[point]]

+ * [[poignant]]

+ * [[punctuate]]

+ * [[Punchinello]]

+ * [[five]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Punch, the hook-nosed puppet of Punch and Judy, is short for Punchinello (1666), from Neapolitan Pollecenella, perhaps a diminutive of pollecena “turkey pullet”, from his big nose.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) ''Pleased as Punch'' is from 1813, and the London comic weekly Punch was founded in 1841.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}