potter n.

Middle English putten, from late Old English *putian, "to thrust, push, shove" (someone or something; a sense now obsolete), also "to move or a thing physically so as to place it in some situation," implied in putung "instigation, an urging," literally "a putting;" related to pytan "put out, thrust out" (of eyes), probably from a Germanic stem that also produced Danish putte "to put," Swedish dialectal putta; Middle Dutch pote "scion, plant," Dutch poten "to plant," Old Norse pota "to poke."

Obsolete past tense form putted is attested 14c.-15c. From c. 1300 as "to hurl, cast, propel," especially "to throw with an upward and forward motion of the arm" (Will. Putstan is attested as a name from 1296). From mid-14c. in the figurative sense of "bring (someone) into some specified state or condition;" late 14c. as "subject (someone to something)," as in put to death, c. 1400; put to shame, mid-15c. From mid-14c. as "make a declaration, express in speech or writing," hence "express or state (in a particular way)," 1690s, also "propose or place before someone for consideration."

To put (something) back is from 1530s as "to hinder, delay;" 1816 as "restore to the original place or position." To put (something) down "end by force or authority" (a rebellion, etc.) is from mid-14c. To put upon (someone) "play a trick on, impose on" is from 1690s. To put up with "tolerate, accept, bear or suffer without protest or resentment" (1755) is perhaps from put up "to take up" (one's lodgings, etc.), 1727. To put (someone) up in the transitive sense of "lodge and entertain" is by 1766. To put (someone) on "deceive" is from 1958. To put upon (someone) "play a trick on, deceive, impose on" is from 1690s.

"deep, circular vessel," from late Old English pott and Old French pot "pot, container, mortar" (also in erotic senses), both from a general Low Germanic (Old Frisian pott, Middle Dutch pot) and Romanic word from Vulgar Latin *pottus, which is of uncertain origin, said by Barnhart and OED to be unconnected to Late Latin potus "drinking cup." Similar Celtic words are said to be borrowed from English and French.

Specifically as a drinking vessel from Middle English. Slang meaning "large sum of money staked on a bet" is attested from 1823; that of "aggregate stakes in a card game" is from 1847, American English.

Pot roast "meat (generally beef) cooked in a pot with little water and allowed to become brown, as if roasted," is from 1881. Pot-plant is by 1816 as "plant grown in a pot." The phrase go to pot "be ruined or wasted" (16c.) suggests cooking, perhaps meat cut up for the pot. In phrases, the pot calls the kettle black-arse (said of one who blames another for what he himself is also guilty of) is from c. 1700; shit or get off the pot is traced by Partridge to Canadian armed forces in World War II. To keep the pot boiling "provide the necessities of life" is from 1650s.