QUIZZES
DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!
We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Origin of tuck
1First recorded before 900; Middle English t(o)uken “to stretch (cloth), torment,” Old English tūcian “to torment”; akin to Middle Low German tucken “to tug,” German zucken “to jerk”; see tow1
OTHER WORDS FROM tuck
un·tucked, adjectiveWords nearby tuck
Definition for tuck (2 of 4)
Origin of tuck
2By shortening and respelling
Definition for tuck (3 of 4)
tuck3
[ tuhk ]
/ tʌk /
noun Archaic.
a rapier, estoc, or other thrusting sword.
Origin of tuck
3First recorded in 1500–10; earlier tocke, apparently phonetic variant of obsolete stock “sword,” from Italian stocco, from German Stock “stick”; cognate with stock
Definition for tuck (4 of 4)
tuck4
[ tuhk ]
/ tʌk /
noun Chiefly Scot.
a drumbeat or the sound of one beat on a drum.
Origin of tuck
4First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tukken “to beat, sound (said of a drum),” from Middle French (north) toker “to strike, touch”; see touch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for tuck
British Dictionary definitions for tuck (1 of 4)
tuck1
/ (tʌk) /
verb
noun
Word Origin for tuck
C14: from Old English tūcian to torment; related to Middle Dutch tucken to tug, Old High German zucchen to twitch
British Dictionary definitions for tuck (2 of 4)
tuck2
/ (tʌk) /
noun
archaic a rapier
Word Origin for tuck
C16: from French estoc sword, from Old French: tree trunk, sword, of Germanic origin
British Dictionary definitions for tuck (3 of 4)
tuck3
/ (tʌk) dialect /
noun
a touch, blow, or stroke
verb
(tr) to touch or strike
(intr) to throb or bump
Word Origin for tuck
C16: from Middle English tukken to beat a drum, from Old Northern French toquer to touch; compare tucket
British Dictionary definitions for tuck (4 of 4)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Idioms and Phrases with tuck
tuck
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.