butthole (English)

Where does "butthole" come from?

The English noun 'butthole' is a compound word formed by combining 'butt' and 'hole'[1]. The component 'butt' traces back through Middle English 'but' and 'butte' and Old English forms to Proto-Germanic '*buttaz', meaning 'end' or 'piece'[3], ultimately stemming from Proto-Indo-European '[3]*bʰudʰnós'[10]. The component 'hole' descends through Middle English 'hole' and Old English 'hol' from Proto-Germanic '*hulą', meaning 'hollow space or cavity'[2].

Open questions

• The ultimate origin of the Proto-Germanic root '*hulaz' remains uncertain, with various proposed derivations from roots meaning 'to cover' or 'to swell' presenting unresolved linguistic problems. [9]
• A potential early Latin attestation of the word source as 'butia' in the Appendix Probi is unverifiable because no definition was provided in the text. [16]

Full etymology tree

• butthole (English), 'The anus.'
  • compound butt (English), 'The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end'
    • inherited but, butte (Middle English)
      • inherited byt, bytt (Old English)
        • inherited *butt (Proto-West Germanic)
          • inherited *buttaz (Proto-Germanic), 'cut off; chopped; stumpy'
            • inherited *bʰudnós (Proto-Indo-European)
              • derived *bʰewd- (Proto-Indo-European)
                • derived *bʰew- (Proto-Indo-European)
      • inherited *butt (Old English)
        • inherited *butt (Proto-West Germanic)
          • inherited *buttaz (Proto-Germanic), 'cut off; chopped; stumpy'
            • inherited *bʰudnós (Proto-Indo-European)
              • derived *bʰewd- (Proto-Indo-European)
                • derived *bʰew- (Proto-Indo-European)
        • influence but, butte (Old French)
  • compound hole (English), 'A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure.'
    • inherited hole, hol (Middle English)
      • inherited hol (Old English), 'hole'
        • inherited *hol (Proto-West Germanic), 'hollow'
          • inherited *hulą (Proto-Germanic), 'a hollow; depression; hole'
            • derived *hulaz (Proto-Germanic), 'hollow'

Ancestors

• butt (English)
• hole (English)

Sources

1. butthole (English) - Wiktionary
2. hole (English) - Wiktionary
3. butt (English) - Wiktionary
4. but (Middle English) - Wiktionary
5. hole (Middle English) - Wiktionary
6. hol (Old English) - Wiktionary
7. byt (Old English) - Wiktionary
8. hulą (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
9. hulaz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
10. buttaz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
11. bʰudʰmḗn (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
12. hol (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
13. butan (Old English) - Wiktionary
14. biūtan (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
15. buttjā (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
16. buttia (Latin) - Wiktionary
17. utan (Old English) - Wiktionary
18. ūt (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
19. ūtanē (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
20. ūtanā (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris