# puck

> English word · Noun · IPA /pʌk/ · frequency rank #12,481

## Definitions
1. A mischievous or hostile spirit.
2. The mischievous fairy-like creature from English folklore, like Puck from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

## Etymology
From Middle English pouke, from Old English pūca (“goblin, demon”), from Proto-West Germanic *pūkō, from Proto-Germanic *pūkô (“a goblin, spook”), of uncertain origin.
Cognate with Old Norse púki (“devil”) (dialectal Swedish puke). Doublet of pooka.

## Easily confused with
- **put** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-put)
- **pup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pup)
- **pun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pun)
- **PVC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pvc)
- **pug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pug)
- **pus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pus)
- **PWC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pwc)
- **pur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pur)
- **pull** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pull)
- **push** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-push)
- **pure** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pure)
- **puts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-puts)
- **pump** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pump)
- **punk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-punk)
- **pulp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pulp)
- **puff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-puff)
- **punt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-punt)
- **Pune** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pune)
- **pups** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-pups)
- **puke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puck-vs-puke)

## Common misspellings (6)
`pcuk`, `ppuck`, `pucck`, `puckk`, `pukc`, `upck`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/puck