Buck
/bʌk/noun
A male deer, goat, or antelope; also slang for a U.S. dollar.
Did you know?Buck shares its ancient Proto-Indo-European root *bʰewgʰ- 'to bend, flee, swell' with 'bow,' 'bough,' and 'fugitive,' symbolizing the elusive, twisting power of the wild stag in ritual lore.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰewgʰ-
“to bend, flee, swell”
Proto-Germanic ~500 BCE
PGmc
*bukkaz
“male goat (swollen belly or curved horns)”
Old English ~900 CE
OE
bucc
“male deer”
Middle English 13th Century
ME
bukke
“male deer”
Early Modern English 16th Century
Eng
buck
“male deer”
American English 18th-19th Century
AmEng
buck
“deerskin unit of trade; dollar”