An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Pauke

by Friedrich Kluge

Pauke, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German pûke (bûke), feminine, ‘kettledrum'; a difficult word to explain. The Suabian variant baoke seems to be formed by gradation from Middle High German pûke. Perhaps the primitively word is bûggn, bauggn, an old onomatopoetic form.