Where does “prick punch” come from?

prick punch (English) comes from English Punch, from English puncheon, from Middle English punchoun, from Old French ponchon, from Latin punctiō, from Latin -tiō, from Latin dissertātiō, from Latin dissertus — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.

prick punch (English): A pointed steel punch, to puncture a mark on sheet metal

Definitions

  1. A pointed steel punch, to puncture a mark on sheet metal

Ancestry of “prick punch”, step by step

prick punch traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Punch

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishPunchA glove puppet who is the main character used in a Punch and Judy show
2EnglishpuncheonA figured stamp, die, or punch, used by...
3Middle Englishpunchoun
4Old Frenchponchonpuncheon
5Latinpunctiōpuncture, pricking
6Latin-tiōtion, -ation, -ing
7Latindissertātiō(spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition
8Latindissertusarranged, disposed; explained
9Latindissereresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
10Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
11Latincalceusshoe
12Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
13Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

via English prick

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishprickA small hole or perforation, caused by piercing;...
2Middle Englishprikkento prick, pierce
3Old Englishpricianto prick
4Old English-ianForms verbs from nouns and adjectives
5Old English-ōjan
6Proto-West Germanic-ōnCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
7Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
8Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
9Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
10Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
11Chichewaiyehe, she
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξ