puke

See also puķe, and puķē

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

1581, first mention is the derivative pukishness (the tendency to be sick frequently). In 1600, "to spit up, regurgitate", recorded in the Seven Ages of Man speech in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Perhaps ultimately from Proto-Germanic *pukanan (to spit, puff), from Proto-Indo-European *beu- (to blow, swell). If so, then cognate with German fauchen (to hiss, spit). Compare also Dutch spugen (to spit, spit up), German spucken (to spit, puke, throw up), Old English spīwan (to vomit, spit). More at spew.

Noun

puke (countable and uncountable; plural pukes)

  1. (uncountable) vomit.
    • 2007, The Guardian, The Guardian Science blog, "The latest in the war on terror: the puke saber"
      the puke saber [...] pulses light over rapidly changing wavelengths, apparently inducing "disorientation, nausea and even vomiting"
    • 2007, FoxNews.com, "Flashlight Weapon Makes Targets Throw Up", Tuesday, August 07
      Phase 1 of the contract — creating a working prototype — has already been completed, and Phase 2 will begin this fall as researchers at Penn State's Institute of Nonlethal Defense Technology put the puke saber through its paces.
  2. (countable) A drug that induces vomiting.
  3. (countable) A worthless, despicable person.
Synonyms
Translations

Verb

puke (third-person singular simple present pukes, present participle puking, simple past and past participle puked)

  1. (transitive and intransitive) To vomit; to throw up; to eject from the stomach.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

This definition is lacking an etymology or has an incomplete etymology. You can help Wiktionary by giving it a proper etymology.

Adjective

puke (not comparable)

  1. A fine grade of woolen cloth
    1599, William Shakespeare, 1 Henry IV, ii.4
    • Puke-stocking caddis garter
  2. A very dark, dull, brownish-red color.

References

  • wollencloth: Word Detective
  • The Universal Dictionary of English, 1896, 4 vols: "Of a dark colour, said to be between black and russet."

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Hawaiian

Etymology

From English book.

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpu.ke/

Noun

puke

  1. book

References

  • Hawaiian Dictionary, by Pukui and Elbert

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Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, from Proto-Austronesian (compare Fijian buke, Hiligaynon bukid (mountain), Indonesian bukit, Malay bukit, Waray-Waray bukid (mountain)).

Noun

puke

  1. hill

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Tagalog

Noun

puke

  1. vagina, female reproductive system.

Synonyms

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Last modified on 23 April 2013, at 20:00