Spud

Spud has been slang for potato since the mid-19th century but the origin is obscure. Some sources attribute the origin to Spud Murphy. True, everyone with the surname Murphy is known as Spud and Murphy did indeed become a synonym for potato but this is first recorded in the early 1800s. Thus, Murphy was a potato long before potato became known as a spud. Therefore, this is unlikely to be the origin. Other sources maintain that spud derives from a type of fork, also called a spud, which dates from the 1600s. This implement may well have been used for digging up potatoes and, by transference, may have given its name to the tuber. However, the 300-year gap to the first citation for spud meaning a potato and the fact that spud is recorded as slang, makes this very dubious. The origin, therefore, remains obscure.