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Origin and history of spud

spud(n.)

mid-15c., spudde, "small, stout knife or dagger of poor quality" (a sense now obsolete), a word of uncertain origin, probably related to Danish spyd, Old Norse spjot "spear," German Spiess "spear, lance."

The meaning "small-bladed spade for cutting" is from 1660s; the sense of "short and thick person or thing" is from 1680s; that of "potato" is recorded by 1840 in an English traveler's account of American peculiarities. Other extended senses in 19c. American English include "a baby's hand," "a piece of dough baked in fat."

Spud, a short scurvy Knife, a Short-arse, or little despicable Fellow. [Phillips' dictionary, 1706]

Spud barber (1935) was prison slang for "potato-peeler."

also from mid-15c.

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sprout
Middle English sprouten, "to spring forth; grow, shoot forth as a bud," from Old English -sprutan (in asprutan "to sprout"), from Proto-Germanic *sprut- (source also of Old Saxon sprutan, Old Frisian spruta, Middle Dutch spruten, Old High German spriozan, German sprießen "to spro
potato
1560s, "sweet potato," from Spanish patata, from a Carib language of Haiti batata "sweet potato." Sweet potatoes were first to be introduced to Europe; they were in cultivation in Spain by mid-16c. and in Virginia by 1648. Early 16c. Portuguese traders carried the crop to all the
Murphy
common Irish surname, Gaelic Murchadh "sea-warrior." The Celtic "sea" element is also in names Muriel (q.v.), Murdoch (Old Irish Muireadhach, Old Welsh Mordoc "mariner"), etc. As colloquial for "a potato" by 1811, apparently in allusion ot it being a staple food of the Irish. Mur
treat
c. 1300, "negotiate, bargain, deal with," from Old French traitier "deal with, act toward; set forth (in speech or writing)" (12c.), from Latin tractare "manage, handle, deal with, conduct oneself toward," originally "drag about, tug, haul, pull violently," frequentative of trahe
French fries
1903, American English, earlier French fried potatoes (by 1856); see French (adj.) + fry (v.). Literally "potatoes fried in the French style." The name is from the method of making them by immersion in fat, which was then considered a peculiarity of French cooking. There are 2 w
jacket
mid-15c., "short garment for men," from Old French jaquet "short coat with sleeves," diminutive of jaque, a kind of tunic, which is of uncertain origin. Probably it is from Jacque, the male proper name, also the generic name of a French peasant (see jacquerie) with extended mater
grow
Old English growan (of plants) "to flourish, increase, develop, get bigger" (class VII strong verb; past tense greow, past participle growen), from Proto-Germanic *gro- (source also of Old Norse groa "to grow" (of vegetation), Old Frisian groia, Dutch groeien, Old High German gru
Boer
"Dutch colonist in South Africa," 1824, from Dutch boer "farmer," from Middle Dutch, cognate with Old English gebur "dweller, farmer, peasant," and thus related to bower, German Bauer, and the final syllable of neighbor; from PIE root *bheue- "to be, exist, grow." The Boer War (1
robe
"long, loose outer garment reaching almost to the floor, worn by men or women over other dress," late 13c., from Old French robe "long, loose outer garment" (12c.), from a Germanic source (compare Old High German rouba "vestments"), from West Germanic *raubo "booty" (cognate with
bore
"pierce or perforate with a rotatory cutting instrument, make a circular hole in by turning an auger, drill, etc.," Old English borian "to bore through, perforate," from bor "auger," from Proto-Germanic *buron (source also of Old Norse bora, Swedish borra, Old High German boron,

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