Stoke
/stoʊk/noun
To stir up or add fuel to a fire; by extension, to encourage or intensify something.
Did you know?The word comes from an old Germanic root for poking, prodding, or stirring, which is why it survives in both literal fire-feeding and the modern sense of intensifying emotions or conflict.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*stōkijaną
“to poke, thrust, or stir”
Old English
OE
stocian
“to stir up, stir, or move about”
Middle English
ME
stoken
“to stoke a fire; to stir fuel or embers”
16th Century
English
stoke
“to tend or feed a fire”
19th-20th Century
English
stoke
“to encourage, excite, or intensify”