Vomiting; forcing food or liquid up from the stomach and out through the mouth, usually because of illness or disgust.
From Middle English 'puke,' possibly imitative in origin (imitating the sound of vomiting) or from Old Norse 'spýja.' The word may be onomatopoetic, reflecting the actual sound and action.
The word 'puke' is probably onomatopoetic—it was literally invented to sound like the action itself, which is why it feels so visceral and immediate. English has lots of these sound-words (like 'splat' and 'burp'), and they often feel more honest and less formal than Latin-origin medical terms.
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