Etymograph

English

cook

Cook comes from Old English cōc ‘a cook’, from Vulgar Latin *cocus, from Latin coquus, from coquō ‘to cook’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- ‘to cook’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pekʷ-1‘to cook, become ripe’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pékʷeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷekʷō1‘to cook’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquō1‘to cook’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquus1‘a cook’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*cocus1reconstructed
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150cōc1‘a cook’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cook1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2003cook1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English cook
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2003, Pal Benko, Endgame Lab: “The original endgame was one file to the right…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pekʷ-Wiktionary, English cook‘to cook, become ripe’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pékʷetiWiktionary, English cookreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷekʷōWiktionary, English cook‘to cook’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquōWiktionary, English cook‘to cook’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquusWiktionary, English cook‘a cook’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*cocusWiktionary, English cookreconstructed
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150cōcWiktionary, English cook‘a cook’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cookWiktionary, English cook
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2003cookWiktionary, English cook. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2003, Pal Benko, Endgame Lab: “The original endgame was one file to the right…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with cook, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- ‘to cook, become ripe’

through Latin coquō ‘to cook’

through Latin coquus ‘a cook’

  • kitchen ← kichene ← cyċen ← *kukinā ← cocīna
  • coach ← coche ← Kutsche ← kocsi ← Kocs
  • cuisine ← cocīna ← coquīna ← coquīnus
  • culinary ← culinaire ← culīnārius ← culīna ← coquīna

22 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of cook

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pekʷ-‘to cook’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pékʷeti‘to be cooking’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷekʷō‘to cook’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*quoquōreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquō‘to cook’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquus‘a cook’
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*cocusreconstructed
  8. Old Englishc. 450–1150cōc‘a cook’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cook‘cook, chef, restaurateur’
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coken
  11. Englishtodaycook

In the slang sense of "proceed with some plan", coined by American rapper from California Lil B in 2010 and popularized in viral tweets and TikToks in mid-2022.

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Today it means

noun A person who prepares food.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cook”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- / cook