Where does “cowpock” come from?
cowpock (English) comes from English cow, from Middle English cow, from Old English cū, from Proto-West Germanic *kō, from Proto-Germanic *kōz — cow.
cowpock (English): Obsolete form of cowpox
Ancestry of “cowpock”, step by step
cowpock traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English cow
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | cow | An adult female of the species "Bos taurus",... |
| 2 | Middle English | cow | Alternative form of cou |
| 3 | Old English | cū | cow |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *kō | cow |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *kōz | cow |
via English pock
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | pock | A pus-filled swelling on the surface on the skin... |
| 2 | Middle English | pok | — |
| 3 | Old English | poc | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | pukkaz | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bew- | "low-pitch humming noise" |