pun: [17] Snappy monosyllables produced by breaking off a piece of a longer word were all the rage in late 17th- and early 18th-century England (mob is a well-known example), and it is thought that pun may be one of them. It seems to be short for pundigrion, a short-lived fanciful 17th- and 18th-century term for a ‘pun’ or ‘quibble’ which may have been adapted from Italian puntiglio ‘nice point, quibble’ (source of English punctilious). [pun etymology, pun origin, 英语词源]