stoke

Etymology 1

From Middle English stoken, from Middle Dutch stoken (“to poke, thrust”) or Middle Low German stoken (“to poke, thrust”), from Old Dutch *stokon or Old Saxon *stokon, both from Proto-West Germanic *stokōn, from Proto-Germanic *stukōną (“to be stiff, push”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewg- (“to push, beat”). Cognate with Middle High German stoken (“to pierce, jab”), Norwegian Nynorsk stauka (“to push, thrust”). Alternative etymology derives the Middle English word from Old French estoquer, estochier (“to thrust, strike”), from the same Germanic source. More at stock.

verb

1. (transitive, obsolete) To poke, pierce, thrust.

noun

1. An act of poking, piercing, thrusting

Etymology 2

From a back-formation of stoker, apparently from Dutch stoker, from stoken (“to kindle a fire, incite, instigate”), from Middle Dutch stoken (“to poke, thrust”), from stock (“stick, stock”), see: tandenstoker. Ultimately the same word as above.

verb

1. (transitive) To feed, stir up, especially, a fire or furnace.
2. (transitive, by extension) To encourage a behavior or emotion.
   Stoking the star maker machinery behind the popular song 1974, Joni Mitchell, Free Man in Paris
   To stoke motivation and ambition, focus instead on the road ahead. 2011, Roy F. Baumeister, John Tierney, Willpower, page 120
3. (intransitive) To attend to or supply a furnace with fuel; to act as a stoker or fireman.

Etymology 3

noun

1. (physics) Misconstruction of stokes (unit of kinematic viscosity)