entry
coke
/koʊk/Coal residue, Cocaine, or Coca-Cola informally
From Proto-Indo-European through Proto-Germanic and Old English *g(ʷ)- / *kulukaz / *colc (Swallow) + American English cocaine (The full name clipped to coke in slang) + American English Coca-Cola (The beverage name shortened to Coke).
from Proto-Indo-European *g(ʷ)el- (“to swallow, devour; gullet”). If so, cognate with Saterland Frisian Kolk...
from Proto-Germanic *kulukaz (“a hollow, depression”)
from Old English *colc (“hole, well”)
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Indo-European *g(ʷ)el- (“to swallow, devour; gullet”). If so, cognate with Saterland Frisian Kolk...
from Proto-Germanic *kulukaz (“a hollow, depression”)
from Old English *colc (“hole, well”)
Three quite different histories are hiding under this tiny word. The industrial sense probably began with a visual metaphor: coal was heated until volatile matter fled, leaving a hard black “core,” perhaps connected with Middle English colke, “core,” and ultimately with words for a hollow or pit; the trail is plausible but not certain. In 1669, English evidence records coke as the furnace fuel we now associate with steelmaking, while the shorter drug sense appeared in American English around 1908 as a clipping of cocaine. Then there is Coke in the refrigerator, shortened from Coca-Cola, the drink introduced in Atlanta in 1886; cola itself comes from a West African tree whose caffeine-rich nuts helped give the beverage its name. So one syllable can point to a furnace, a white powder, or a glass bottle—three unrelated stories sharing the same phonetic coat.
The Story
Three quite different histories are hiding under this tiny word. The industrial sense probably began with a visual metaphor: coal was heated until volatile matter fled, leaving a hard black “core,” perhaps connected with Middle English colke, “core,” and ultimately with words for a hollow or pit; the trail is plausible but not certain. In 1669, English evidence records coke as the furnace fuel we now associate with steelmaking, while the shorter drug sense appeared in American English around 1908 as a clipping of cocaine. Then there is Coke in the refrigerator, shortened from Coca-Cola, the drink introduced in Atlanta in 1886; cola itself comes from a West African tree whose caffeine-rich nuts helped give the beverage its name. So one syllable can point to a furnace, a white powder, or a glass bottle—three unrelated stories sharing the same phonetic coat.
Modern Usage
Informal term for cocaine; also a shortened name for Coca-Cola
Popularized by: American English speakers and Coca-Cola branding
Notable References
- Coca-Cola, introduced in 1886
- Cocaine clipping attested around 1908
Kin & Kindred
From '*g(ʷ)- / *kulukaz / *colc'·Swallow, devour; gullet; later a hollow or depression
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'cocaine'·The full name clipped to coke in slang
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'Coca-Cola'·The beverage name shortened to Coke
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary