Friday 30th September 2016
Poke /pəʊk/
Verb
1.
(Transitive) to jab or prod, as with the elbow, the finger, a stick, etc
2.
(Transitive) to make (a hole, opening, etc) by or as by poking
3.
When intr, often foll by at. to thrust (at)
4.
(Transitive) ( informal) to hit with the fist; punch
5.
Usually foll by in, out, out of, through, etc. to protrude or cause to
protrude: don't poke your arm out of the window
6.
(Transitive) to stir (a fire, pot, etc) by poking
7.
(Intransitive) to meddle or intrude
8.
(Intransitive; often foll by about or around) to search or pry
9.
(Intransitive) often foll by along. to loiter, potter, dawdle, etc
10.
(Transitive) ( slang) (of a man) to have sexual intercourse with
11.
Poke fun at, to mock or ridicule
12.
Poke one's nose into
Noun
13.
A jab or prod
14.
Short for slowpoke
15.
(Informal) a blow with one's fist; punch
Quote
This initiative highlights activists from Cuba to China, who use satire to poke
fun at their blundering and oppressive regimes.
Celebrate Dictator Appreciaition Month
David Keyes 19 June 2013
Origin
Verb
"To push, prod, thrust," especially with something pointed, c.1300, puken
"to poke, nudge," of uncertain origin, perhaps from or related to Middle
Dutch poken "to poke" (Dutch beuken), or Middle Low German poken "to
stick with a knife" (cf. German pochen "to knock, rap"), both from Proto-Germanic root *puk-, perhaps imitative. Related: Poked ; poking. To poke
fun "tease" first attested 1840; to poke around "search" is from 1809. To
poke along "advance lazily; walk at a leisurely pace" is from 1833.
Noun
"Small sack" early 13c
probably from Old North French poque (12c Old
French poche) "purse, poke, purse-net" probably from a Germanic source from
Proto-Germanic *puk
(cf. Old English pohha, pocca "bag, pocket,"
Middle Dutch poke / Old Norse poki "bag, pouch, pocket," dialectal German
Pfoch) from PIE root *beu- an imitative root associated with words for "to
swell".
"Pokeweed; a weed used in medicine and dyeing," colonial American, from
native words, possibly a confusion of similar-sounding Native American plant
names; from 1630’s in English as "tobacco plant," short for uppowoc(1580’s), from
Algonquian (Virginia) *uppowoc.
Later (1708) the word isused in the sense "pokeweed," as a shortened form of puccoon,
from Algonquian (Virginia) *puccoon, name of a plant used for dyeing." Native
roots for "smoke" and "stain" have been proposed as the origin or origins.
"An act of poking," 1796, originally pugilistic slang, from
poke. Also(1809) the name of a device, like a yoke with a pole, attached to domestic
animals such as pigs and sheep to keep them from escaping enclosures.
Hence slowpoke and
pokey.
Thanks to: www.dictionary.com
