spud

Meaning

Noun

1. (informal) A potato.
2. (informal) A hole in a sock.
3. A type of short nut (fastener) threaded on both ends.
4. (obsolete) Anything short and thick.
5. (US, dialectal, obsolete) A piece of dough boiled in fat.
6. (plural-normally, slang) A testicle.
7. (obsolete) A dagger.
8. A digging fork with three broad prongs.
9. A tool, similar to a spade, used for digging out weeds etc.
10. A barking spud; a long-handled tool for removing bark from logs.
11. A movable post through a sleeve in the hull of a work barge to anchor it to the bottom of a body of water.
12. A short central rod in a lighting fixture, for attachment to the light.

Verb

1. To dig up weeds with a spud.
2. To begin drilling an oil well; to drill by moving the drill bit and shaft up and down, or by raising and dropping a bit.
3. To remove the roofing aggregate and most of the bituminous top coating by scraping and chipping.
4. To set up a recreational vehicle (RV) at a campsite, typically by leveling the RV and connecting it to electric, water, and/or sewer hookups.

Name

A game for three or more players, involving the gradual elimination of players by throwing and catching a ball.

Synonyms

potato

🥔

hoe

murphy

stump spud

sprout

germinate

mattock

bourgeon

shoot

white potato

tater

burgeon forth

pullulate

Irish potato

supporting rod

pole support

fulcrum bar

rack post

sod lifter

aloo

arm

panipuri

bearing rod

cultivator

dig

grouser

nightshade

pal

rod

root vegetable

weeder

yam

garden trowel

garden spade

tump

Translations

patata

🥔

pomme de terre

🥔

batata

🥔

patate

patata

🥔

Kartoffel

🥔

πατάτα

batatinha

patata

🥔

schoffel

patat

patana

Jätmesser

Pronounced as (IPA)

/spʌd/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: spudde

Cognate with Danish: spyd

Cognate with Old Norse: spjót

Cognate with German: Spieß

Cognate with English: spit

In summary

From Middle English spudde (“small knife”). Origin unknown; probably related to Danish spyd, Old Norse spjót (“spear”), German Spieß (“spear; spike; skewer”). Compare English spit (“sharp, pointed rod”). The use of the term for a potato perhaps first appeared in New Zealand and Australian dialect and slang.