Why is Punch called Punch?

Why is Punch called Punch?

We all love to drink juice especially if the weather is too hot. To relieve us from thirst, we prepare juice punch. Juice punch can be a very healthy drink because of the ingredients It is a mixture of fresh fruits and juice. Sometimes, fruit punch is prepared with few drops of alcoholic drink to make it taste stronger. In parties, fruit punch is often served in a large bowl.

But why is juice punch called punch even if there is nothing being blown (punched) into it. To trace its word origin, let’s first define punch. Punch is an assortment of mixed drinks either alcoholic or soft.

Punch is not an original English word. It is just borrowed from Hindi which is spelled as panch. Panch in Hindi means five which refer to the five ingredients of the mixed juice. These five ingredients are sugar, water, lemon, spices, and arrack (An alcoholic beverage produced in Asia and Middle East). When British sailors went to India, they got interested with the drink. The name was then adopted and when they went back to Britain, panch was introduced in neighboring countries.

Another root of the word punch came from the word puncheon which means a large container having a capacity of 80 gallons. Before, punch was served in very large containers so the puncheon” served as the cask where the punch bowl can be made.

Another funny story of the origin of the punch was based on the incidents after the sailors drink the juice mixture. Since there was alcohol added into it, they got drunk. If this happens, they got punched. Their companions deserted them and went on to their journey while the punched” drunk sailors were left behind.

It was in 1632 when the word punch was first recorded. Now punch is such a common drink especially in parties and social gatherings.