stoke

Meaning

Verb

• To poke, pierce, thrust.
• To feed, stir up, especially, a fire or furnace.
• To encourage a behavior or emotion.
• To attend to or supply a furnace with fuel; to act as a stoker or fireman.

Origin

• From Middle English stoken, from Middle Dutch stoken ("to poke, thrust") or Middle Low German stoken ("to poke, thrust"), from Old Dutch *stokon or Old Saxon *stokon, both from Proto-West Germanic *stokōn, from Proto-Germanic *stukōną ("to be stiff, push"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewg- ("to push, beat").
• Cognate with Middle High German stoken ("to pierce, jab"), Norwegian Nynorsk stauka ("to push, thrust"). Alternative etymology derives the Middle English word from Old French estoquer, estochier, from the same Germanic source. More at stock.
• From a back-formation of stoker, apparently from Dutch stoker, from stoken, from Middle Dutch stoken ("to poke, thrust"), from stock, see: tandenstoker. Ultimately the same word as above.