Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “suck” come from?

Suck comes from Middle English souken, from Old English sūcan, from Proto-Germanic sūganą, from Proto-Indo-European sug-, ultimately from the root sew-.

suck (English): An instance of drawing something into one's mouth...

Definitions

  1. An instance of drawing something into one's mouth...

Ancestry of “suck”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishsoukenTo suck; to extract or draw with the mouth; To...
2Old Englishsūcanto suck
3Proto-West Germanicsūkanto suck; to suckle
4Proto-Germanicsūkanąto suck; to suckle
5Proto-Indo-Europeansug-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeansew-to press out, extract; juice; liquid, rain; to...

Words derived from “suck”

  • sucking
  • bloodsucking
  • sucky
  • cocksucking
  • thumbsucking
  • sucketh
  • suckable
  • windsucking
  • suckup
  • suckiness
  • sapsucking
  • suckingly
  • insuck
  • suckhole
  • suckage
  • scumsucking
  • suckfest
  • suckitude
  • nonbloodsucking
  • insucking
  • suckfish
  • suckest
  • fingersucking
  • suckability
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sew- →