Etymograph

English

spud

Spud comes from Middle English spudde ‘small knife’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spudde1‘small knife’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1844spud1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English spud
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1844, Richard Sainthill, An Olla Podrida: Or: “As I turned out of the wood, I heard…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spuddeWiktionary, English spud‘small knife’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1844spudWiktionary, English spud. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1844, Richard Sainthill, An Olla Podrida: Or: “As I turned out of the wood, I heard…”

The story

Origin unknown; probably related to Danish spyd, Old Norse spjót (‘spear’), German Spieß (‘spear; spike; skewer’).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. The use of the term for a potato perhaps first appeared in New Zealand and Australian dialect and slang.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Middle English spudde

Today it means

noun A potato.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spud”. 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 / Middle English spudde / spud

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