Where does “push” come from?
Push comes from Middle French pousser, from Frankish pokka, from Latin pulsare meaning to beat or strike, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European pelh₂-.
push (English): To apply a force to such that it moves away from...
Definitions
- To apply a force to such that it moves away from...
Ancestry of “push”, step by step
push traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English pushen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | pushen | — |
| 2 | Middle French | pousser | — |
| 3 | Old French | poulser | — |
| 4 | Latin | pulsare | present active infinitive of pulsō; second-person... |
| 5 | Latin | pulso | I push, strike, beat, batter, hammer; knock on;... |
| 6 | Latin | pulsus | pulse, impulse, beat, stroke; expelled, kicked... |
| 7 | Latin | pellō | to push, drive, hurl, impel, propel; expel, banish, eject, thrust out |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | pelnō | approach, go to; bring close |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pelh₂- | to approach |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pel- | to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold |
via French poché
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | poché | past participle of pocher |