Etymograph

English

pocket

Pocket comes from Anglo-Norman poket, a diminutive of poke ‘bag’, from Frankish *pokō ‘pouch’, from Proto-Germanic *puhô ‘bag’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*puhô1‘bag; pouch’reconstructed
  2. Frankishc. 250–700*pokō1‘pouch’reconstructed
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400poket1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pocket1‘bag, sack’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1597pocket1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English pocket
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1597, Don Richardo de Medico Campo pseudonym; , The Trimming of Thomas Nashe Gentleman: “But, Tom, thy ſelfe art paſt grace; for ſome…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*puhôWiktionary, English pocket‘bag; pouch’reconstructed
  2. Frankishc. 250–700*pokōWiktionary, English pocket‘pouch’reconstructed
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400poketWiktionary, English pocket
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pocketWiktionary, English pocket‘bag, sack’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1597pocketWiktionary, English pocket. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1597, Don Richardo de Medico Campo pseudonym; , The Trimming of Thomas Nashe Gentleman: “But, Tom, thy ſelfe art paſt grace; for ſome…”

Formed from poke + -et

Middle English poken ‘to poke’

English poke

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bew- ‘to blow, swell’

bill, pick, bowl, purse, pose, bulletin, buckle, pique, bouillon, pout, picot, bulla, 18 more

through Proto-Germanic *puhô ‘bag’

push, 3 more

through Frankish *pokō ‘pouch’

pouch, 1 more

Today it means

noun A bag stitched to an item of clothing, used for carrying small items.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pocket”. 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-Germanic *puhô / pocket

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