| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| poke3 |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  p k |
| NOUN: | Chiefly Southern U.S. A sack; a bag. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, probably from Old North French. See pocket. | | REGIONAL NOTE: | A pig in a poke is concealed in a sack from the buyer. The noun poke—meaning a bag or sack—dates from the 14th century in English. In many parts of Scotland poke means a little paper bag for carrying purchases or a cone-shaped piece of paper for an ice-cream cone. The Oxford English Dictionary gives similar forms in other languages: Icelandic poki, Gaelic poc or poca, and French poche.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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