Where does “púca” come from?
púca (Irish) comes from English Puck, from English Pike, from French piqué, from French piquer, from Middle French picquer, from Old French piquer, from Vulgar Latin piccare, from Frankish pikkōn — "low-pitch humming noise".
púca (Irish): hobgoblin, pooka, puck; surly, uncommunicative...
Definitions
- hobgoblin, pooka, puck; surly, uncommunicative...
Ancestry of “púca”, step by step
púca traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Puck
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Puck | A mischievous sprite in Celtic mythology and English folklore |
| 2 | English | Pike | A member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity |
| 3 | French | piqué | past participle of piquer; dive; two fabrics... |
| 4 | French | piquer | to prick; to sting; to nick, pinch, steal |
| 5 | Middle French | picquer | to sting |
| 6 | Old French | piquer | to pierce with the tip of a sword |
| 7 | Vulgar Latin | piccare | to puncture; to sting, strike; to pierce |
| 8 | Frankish | pikkōn | to peck, strike |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | pikōną | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bew- | "low-pitch humming noise" |
via Old Norse púki
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | púki | demon, evil spirit; devil; fairy spirit |