Etymograph

English

paddock

Paddock comes from English parrock ‘enclosure’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *parrukaz ‘fence’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*parrukaz‘fence’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*parruk‘enclosure’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150pearroc‘a fence used to enclose a space, or the area enclosed by such a fence’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500parrok‘Enclosed pasture, paddock, park’
  5. English1500–presentparrock‘enclosure’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1813paddock

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*parrukaz‘fence’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*parruk‘enclosure’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150pearroc‘a fence used to enclose a space, or the area enclosed by such a fence’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500parrok‘Enclosed pasture, paddock, park’
  5. English1500–presentparrock‘enclosure’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1813paddock

Earliest quotation: 1813, Jane Austen, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton: “Upon this information, they instantly passed through the hall…”

The story

The noun is almost certainly a variant of dialectal British parrock (‘enclosure; park; croft, small field, paddock’), from Middle English parrok, parrock (‘enclosed pasture, paddock; coop; feeding stall; cabin, hut’) [and other forms], from Old English pearroc, pearruc (‘fence used to enclose a space; area enclosed by such a fence, enclosure’), from Proto-West Germanic *parruk (‘enclosure; pen for animals’), from Proto-Germanic *parrukaz (‘fence; enclosure’); further etymology uncertain, perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *barō (‘bar, beam; barrier’), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (‘to pierce; to strike’).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *parrukaz

Another origin of paddock

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰew-root as named · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500paddok
  3. Englishtodaypaddock

Pad, pade is derived from Old English *pada, *padda, padde, from Proto-West Germanic *paddā, from Proto-Germanic *paddǭ (‘toad’); further etymology uncertain, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (‘to swell’).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. The English word is analysable as pad (‘(Britain, dialectal) frog; toad’) + -ock (suffix forming nouns, originally with diminutive senses). Sense 2 (‘sledge’) is probably from the supposed resemblance of the object to a frog or toad.

Today it means

noun A small enclosure or field of grassland, especially one used to exercise or graze horses or other animals.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *parrukaz / paddock

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