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poke¹

(pōk)

v. poked, pok·ing, pokes

v.tr.

1. To push or jab at, as with a finger or an arm; prod.

2. To make (a hole or pathway, for example) by or as if by prodding, elbowing, or jabbing: I poked my way to the front of the crowd.

3. To push; thrust: A seal poked its head out of the water.

4. To stir (a fire) by prodding the wood or coal with a poker or stick.

5. Slang To strike; punch.

v.intr.

1. To make thrusts or jabs, as with a stick or poker.

2. To pry or meddle; intrude: poking into another's business.

3. To search or look curiously in a desultory manner: poked about in the desk.

4. To proceed in a slow or lazy manner; putter: just poked along all morning.

5. To thrust forward; appear: The child's head poked from under the blankets.

1. A push, thrust, or jab.

2. Slang A punch or blow with the fist: a poke in the jaw.

3. One who moves slowly or aimlessly; a dawdler.

Idiom:

poke fun at

To ridicule in a mischievous manner.

[Middle English poken, probably from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch.]

poke²

(pōk)

1. A projecting brim at the front of a bonnet.

2. A large bonnet having a projecting brim.

[From POKE¹.]

poke³

(pōk)

n.
Chiefly Southern US

A sack; a bag.

[Middle English, probably from Old North French; see POCKET.]

Word History: A pig in a poke is a colorful vernacular expression used to describe something offered in a manner that conceals its true nature or value. Naturally, a buyer cannot inspect the pig if it is covered by a poke—that is, a bag or sack. The word poke meaning "bag" is not confined to just the American South—in many parts of Scotland, poke bag is still used of a little paper bag for carrying purchases like candy. Poke first appears in English in the 1200s and probably comes from Old North French, the northern dialect of Old French. The Old North French word in turn is probably of Germanic origin and is related to words like Icelandic poki, "bag." Poke has several relatives within English. The word pocket comes from Middle English poket, meaning "pouch, small bag," which in turn comes from Anglo-Norman pokete, a diminutive of Old North French poke. Pouche, a variant form of Old North French poke, is the source of the English word pouch.

poke⁴

(pōk)

Pokeweed.

[Short for dialectal pocan, of Virginia Algonquian origin; akin to PUCCOON.]

po·ke⁵

(pō-kā)

A Hawaiian salad or appetizer traditionally consisting of cubed raw fish, often yellowfin tuna, that is marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil, and mixed with diced onions, sesame seeds, and ginger.

[Hawaiian English, from Hawaiian poke, to cut crosswise into pieces, a slice.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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