Punch

Shortened from Punchinello.

Punch

1. (British) A glove puppet who is the main character used in a Punch and Judy show.
2. Any butterfly of genus Dodona.
3. A settlement on Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands.
4. A former British satirical magazine, which took its name from the puppet.
   • 1960 March, N. Caplan, “The Railway Member of Parliament”, in Railway Magazine, page 207:

     Any study of the railway scene around 1850 should not neglect the files of Punch. Mr. Punch was full of prejudices, it is true, but he frequently reflected (more or less fairly) the feelings of a great many people about the railways.

Punch (plural Punches)

1. Ellipsis of Suffolk Punch (“type of horse”).
   • 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:

     ‘And the Punches,’ said William. ‘There’s cattle! A Suffolk Punch, when he’s a good un, is worth his weight in gold. Did you ever breed any Suffolk Punches yourself, sir?’

2. A butterfly of the genus Dodona.

• pleased as Punch
• proud as Punch
• Punch and Judy

Variant of Points.

Punch (plural Punches)

1. A surname.

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Punch is the 19654^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1371 individuals. Punch is most common among White (64.55%) and Black/African American (31.8%) individuals.

• Punch and Judy on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Punch”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.