Etymograph

English

prick

Prick comes from Old English prica ‘prick, (small) hole, perforation’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *prikô.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*prikô1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*prikō1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150prica1‘prick, (small) hole, perforation’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prik1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1579prick1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English prick
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1579, Immeritô pseudonym; Edmund Spenser, September. Ægloga Nona.: “they that shooten nearest the prick”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*prikôWiktionary, English prickreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*prikōWiktionary, English prickreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150pricaWiktionary, English prick‘prick, (small) hole, perforation’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prikWiktionary, English prick
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1579prickWiktionary, English prick. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1579, Immeritô pseudonym; Edmund Spenser, September. Ægloga Nona.: “they that shooten nearest the prick”

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *prikô

Another origin of prick

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*breyǵ-‘to scrape, scratch, rub, prickle, chap’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*prikōną‘to pierce, prick’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150prician‘to prick’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prikken‘to prick, pierce’
  5. Englishtodayprick

Today it means

noun A small hole or perforation, caused by piercing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prick”. 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 *prikô / prick

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