Etymology: Origin uncertain. Perhaps (i) (originally as the name of a kind of confection or dessert: see note) < Louisiana French Creole poutin pudding, dumpling, flan < French †poutin(g) (1822 or earlier), variant of pouding , pudding (see pudding n.); or perhaps (ii) < French putain prostitute (see putain n.).The word, although apparently southern in origin, seems not to have originated in African-American use. If it is derived directly from French putain (see derivation (ii) above), its route into English is presumably via the U.S. armed forces in France during the First World War (however, no evidence has been found to support this conjecture, and possible earlier use is discussed below); on phonological grounds it is unlikely to have been transmitted via Louisiana French Creole piten(n) prostitute. Apparent evidence for use as the name of a confection is provided by the lyrics of the blues song Oh! Mister Mitchell (see quot.) which depend on poontang (a confection) being understood as a double entendre for sexual intercourse (compare similar use of cherry pie and jelly roll ); the Louisiana location is also significant:1929 Oh! Mister Mitchell (song lyrics) Mr. Mitchell owned a sweet confectionery stand, Way down south in Lou'siana... Miss Lindy Lou, she tasted his brand new confection; Mr. Mitchell called it sweet poontang. And when Miss Lindy Lou with it made good connection This is what she yelled before the gang: Oh, oh, Mr. Mitchell, I'm crazy about your sweet poontang. Oh, oh, Mr. Mitchell, it's got me goin' with a bang. Your cherry pie is juicy, so is your jelly roll; But when you give me poontang I just lose control. G. Legman in Amer. Speech 25 (1950) 234 notes that the translator Keene Wallis claimed that the word was already current (in sense ‘sexual intercourse’) in Missouri c1915, but this has not been substantiated. If either of the above etymologies is correct, the α. forms apparently show epenthetic -n- in the first syllable by assimilation of consonants. In early use frequently written as two words. Earlier use in names. It is unclear whether the following earlier innocent uses of poontang, pootang in various names show the same word: the name of the Pootang Club, Frederick, Maryland (c1904–12; also Poutang, Poo Tang, Pou Tang), a respectable social club, likewise the Poontang Club, New York (c1909–10), whose membership was favoured by physicians; Pootang (c1916), the name of a beagle bitch owned by Staley Doub, a dog breeder also of Frederick, Maryland; Poontang No.7, the name of a proprietary product of some kind listed in the Druggists Circular (1918–23); and the nicknames of ‘Poon Tang’ Christman (member of a fraternity society, Madison, Indiana, 1916), ‘Poontang’ Cunningham (high school basketball player, San Jose, California, 1919) and Dr ‘Poontang’ Fountain (science teacher at Mercer College, Macon, Georgia, 1922).

Etymology: < poontang n.