Etymograph

English

fist

Fist may come from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- ‘to punch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-1‘to punch’uncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fūsti1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150fȳst1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fist1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1590fist1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English fist
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto VII: “More light then Culver in the Faulcons fist.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-Wiktionary, English fist‘to punch’uncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fūstiWiktionary, English fistreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150fȳstWiktionary, English fist
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fistWiktionary, English fist
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1590fistWiktionary, English fist. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto VII: “More light then Culver in the Faulcons fist.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- ‘to punch’

point, fuck, punch, pivot, poignant, puncture, pungent, repugnant, pygmy, punto, punctuate, compunction, pugnacious, impugn, pugilist, 41 more

Another origin of fist

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150*fistanreconstructed
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fisten
  3. Englishtodayfist

Today it means

noun A hand with the fingers clenched or curled inward.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fist”. 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 *pewǵ- / fist

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