punch not < panc

[Rick Mc Callister]

	The <u> in English, of course, is /@/. English <punch> /ph at nc^/
does sound very close to Hindi <panch>. It's possible that other European
languages got the word from written English
	BTW: I've also seen and heard that English <punch> "to hit with the
fist" <punk> "one who punches, or gets punched (or worse, as in prison
slang)" is from a Romany word for "five, fist"
	Along this line, I've wondered if <guy> --generally said to be
derived from the dummy of Guy Fawkes-- is from Romany, given that Spanish
gayo (said to be from Romany gaio "non-Gypsy") has the same meaning.
	Ditto English geeta (which I've only heard in gangster movies from
the 1940s) and Spanish guita, both meaning "money"

>On a non-linguistic forum recently I spotted the throwaway remark that
><punch> the drink comes from an Indian word for 'five' because it has five
>ingredients. I immediately barged in and debunked this. But as the _OED_ is
>wrong about <zebra>, I thought I'd ask the experts whether they can add
>anything to the _OED_ explanation or controvert it.

>In summary, it first occurs in English in 1632, and is repeatedly cited,
>always with <u> and with variable ingredients; the expression <bowl of
>punch> then turns up in Continental languages as <bolleponge>, <palepuntz>,
><bouleponges>, <palepunshen>. Clearly at this date it was pronounced with
>[u]. No suitable Indian language has [u] in 'five'.