Etymograph

English

pritch

Pritch comes from Proto-Germanic *prikjaną ‘to prick’, and goes back to *prikiz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*prikiz1‘prick’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*prikjaną2‘to prick’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150*priċċan2reconstructed
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pricchen2
  5. Englishtodaypritch2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *prikjaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English pritch

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*prikizWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *prikjaną‘prick’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*prikjanąWiktionary, English pritch‘to prick’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150*priċċanWiktionary, English pritchreconstructed
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pricchenWiktionary, English pritch
  5. EnglishtodaypritchWiktionary, English pritch

The story

From Middle English pricchen, from Old English *priċċan (attested in āpriċċan), from Proto-Germanic *prikjaną (‘to prick; pierce’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *prikiz

Today it means

verb To pierce or make holes in.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pritch”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *prikjaną. 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 *prikiz / pritch

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