Where does “pun” come from?

Pun comes from Korean 분, borrowed from Chinese 分, which derives from Proto-Germanic pūnōną, originally meaning to separate or divide.

pun (English): To beat; strike with force; to ram; to pound, as...

Definitions

  1. To beat; strike with force; to ram; to pound, as...

Ancestry of “pun”, step by step

pun traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English ponnen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishponnenAlternative form of pounen
2Old Englishpūnianto pound, beat, bray, bruise, crush; to pound,...
3Proto-Germanicpūnōnąto break to pieces, pulverise

via Korean 분

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Korean분bun, a unit of length equivalent to about 0.3cm,...
2Chinese分fen; to divide; to split

Words derived from “pun”

Every word from Proto-Germanic pūnōną →