Sucker
/ˈsʌk.ər/noun
A person or thing that sucks, or a gullible person; also a young shoot or a fish that attaches by suction.
Did you know?The insult sense of *sucker* is relatively modern, but the word’s deeper history is tied to physical sucking and to a plant shoot, showing how English turns bodily action into social judgment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sug-
“to suck”
Old English
OE
sūcan
“to suck”
Middle English
ME
soken / sucker
“one who sucks; a suckling; a young shoot”
17th Century
English
sucker
“a person or animal that sucks; also a shoot from the root or base of a plant”
19th Century
English
sucker
“a gullible or easily cheated person”