Etymograph

English

punish

Punish comes from Latin puniō ‘to inflict punishment upon’, from Ancient Greek ποινή ‘fine, ransom, penalty, penance, satisfaction’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-1‘to pay’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷoynéh₂1‘punishment, vengeance’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoinā́2reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποινή1poinḗ‘fine, ransom, penalty, penance, satisfaction’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoena1‘punishment, penalty’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpuniō3‘to inflict punishment upon’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500punischen3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1818punish3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin punio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ποινή
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English punish
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1818, William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England: “It was not from the want of proper laws…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-Wiktionary, Latin punio‘to pay’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷoynéh₂Wiktionary, Latin punio‘punishment, vengeance’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoinā́Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ποινήreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποινήWiktionary, Latin puniopoinḗ‘fine, ransom, penalty, penance, satisfaction’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoenaWiktionary, Latin punio‘punishment, penalty’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpuniōWiktionary, English punish‘to inflict punishment upon’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500punischenWiktionary, English punish
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1818punishWiktionary, English punish. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1818, William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England: “It was not from the want of proper laws…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’

poetry, painful, poem, poet, titanium, painless, whey, onomatopoeia, 21 more

through Ancient Greek ποινή ‘fine, ransom, penalty, penance, satisfaction’

penalty, subpoena, 5 more

through Latin poena ‘punishment, penalty’

pain, pine, penal, impunity, 5 more

through Latin puniō ‘to inflict punishment upon’

punitive, 2 more

Today it means

verb To cause (a child, student, or someone else being looked after, or a suspect or criminal) to suffer for crime or misconduct, to administer disciplinary action, typically by an authority or a person in authority (for example: a parent, teacher, or police officer).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “punish”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin punio, Ancient Greek ποινή. 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 *kʷey- / punish

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