Editing Hockey puck (section)

==Etymology==

The origin of the word ''puck'' is vague. The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] suggests the name is related to the verb ''to puck'' (a [[cognate]] of ''poke'') used in the games of [[shinty]] and [[hurling]] for striking or pushing the ball, from the [[Scottish Gaelic]] ''puc'' or the Irish ''poc'', meaning "to poke, punch or deliver a blow":<ref name="Beauchamp 1943">{{cite news |first=J. Clem |last=Beauchamp |title=<!--Give the title--> |work=Montreal Star |date=September 1943}}, citing Joyce (1910).</ref><ref name="Joyce 1910">{{Cite book |title= English as We Speak It in Ireland |first=P. W. |last=Joyce |date=1910}}</ref>

It is possible that settlers of [[Nova Scotia]], many of whom were Scottish and Irish who played [[shinty]] and [[hurling]], may have introduced the word to Canada. This is supported by the prevalent use in Canada of the word "[[shinny]]" for an informal or "pick-up" game of hockey, which is also derived from the Scottish game of shinty. The first known printed reference was in Montreal, in 1876 (''Montreal Gazette'' of February 7, 1876), just a year after the [[First indoor hockey game|first indoor game]] was played there.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Watson |first1=Ronald C. |last2=Rickwood |first2=Gregory D. |date=May 1999 |title='Stewards of Ice Hockey': A Historical Review of Safety Rules in Canadian Amateur Ice Hockey |journal=Sport History Review |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=27–38 |doi=10.1123/shr.30.1.27 |pmid=22439215 |issn=1087-1659}}</ref>

A hockey puck is also referred to colloquially as a "biscuit". To put the "biscuit in the basket" (colloquial for the goal) is to score a goal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-05-30 |title=From biscuits to wristers, a guide to hockey speak |url= https://w.espn.go.com/espnw/news-opinion/6607974/nhl-playoffs-biscuits-wristers-guide-hockey-speak |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>