chuck [L16th] This informal word meaning ‘throw’ is the same as the one meaning ‘touch (someone) playfully under the chin’ [E17th], probably from Old French chuquer, ‘to knock, bump’ (of unknown ultimate origin). The chuck [L17th] of a drill is a variant of *chock, with chunk [L17th] another variant. The phrase the chuck expressing rejection (give somebody the chuck) dates from the late 19th century, while the sense ‘to vomit’ is an Australianism from the mid 20th century.