Etymology
1. late O.E.
putung "instigation, urging," lit. "putting;" also
pytan "put out, thrust out" (of eyes), probably from Gmc. stem that also produced Dan.
putte "to put," Swed. dial.
putta. Meaning "act of casting a heavy stone overhead" (as a trial of strength) is attested from c.1300. Adj. phrase
put out "angry, upset" is first recorded 1887; to
put out, of a woman, "to offer oneself for sex" is from 1947. Verb phrase
put down "snub" is from c.1400;
put-down (n.) first recorded 1962. To
put up with "tolerate, accept" (1755) was originally
to put up, as in "to pocket." To
put (someone) on "deceive" is from 1958;
put-on "deception" is from 1937; from an earlier adj. meaning "assumed, feigned" (1621), a fig. extension of the notion of putting on costumes or disguises.
2. From Middle English putten, pitten, pytten, puten, poten, from Old English putian, *pūtian ("to push, put out"; attested by derivative putung (“pushing, impulse, instigation, urging”)) and potian (“to push, thrust, strike, butt, goad”), both from Proto-West Germanic *putōn, from Proto-Germanic *putōną (“to stick, stab”), which is of uncertain origin. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bud- (“to shoot, sprout”), which would make it cognate with Sanskrit बुन्द (bundá, “arrow”), Lithuanian budė, and budis (“mushroom, fungus”). Compare also related Old English pȳtan (“to push, poke, thrust, put out (the eyes)”). Cognate with Dutch poten (“to set, plant”), Low German paten (“to set, plant”), Danish putte (“to put”), Swedish putta, pötta, potta (“to strike, knock, push gently, shove, put away”), Norwegian putte (“to set, put”), Norwegian pota (“to poke”), Icelandic pota (“to poke”), Dutch peuteren (“to pick, poke around, dig, fiddle with”). See: Middle English '
putten', Proto-Germanic '
*putōną', Dutch '
poten', Low Saxon 'paten', Danish '
putte', Swedish '
putta', Icelandic '
pota', Dutch '
peuteren'.
Verbs referencing "put"
Scots Gaelic
put, Sranan
poti, Tok Pisin putim.