「一種因使用兩個發音相同但意義不同的詞而產生的巧妙表達」[Addison]；「一種表達方式，其中一個詞在兩個不同的應用中使用，或兩個發音相似或近似的不同詞使用，呈現出奇特或滑稽的概念」[Century Dictionary]；1640年代（顯然是指對Thames/tame的隱晦戲謔）。這個詞的起源不確定。
可能來自pundigron，意義相同（雖然幾年後才有證據），這個詞本身的詞源也不確定。也可能是意大利語puntiglio「歧義，微不足道的反對」的幽默變體，是拉丁語punctum「點」的縮小形式。這純屬推測。Punnet是另一個早期形式。
Pun was prob. one of the clipped words, such as cit, mob, nob, snob, which came into fashionable slang at or after the Restoration. [OED]
Pun可能是剪短的詞之一，例如cit、mob、nob、snob，這些詞在復辟時期或之後進入時尚俚語。[OED]
動詞「製作雙關語」在1660年代由德萊頓證實。相關詞：Punned; punning。
At the revival of learning, and the spread of what we may term the refinement of society, punning was one of the few accomplishments at which the fine ladies and gentlemen aimed. From the twelfth to the sixteenth century, it was at its greatest height. The conversation of the witty gallants, and ladies, and even of the clowns and other inferior characters, in the comedies of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, which we may be sure was painted from the life, is full of puns and plays upon words. The unavoidable result of such an excess was a surfeit, and the consequent dégout, which lasted for more than a century. Like other diseases, it broke out again subsequently with redoubled virulence, and made great havoc in the reign of Queen Anne. [Larwood & Hotten, "The History of Signboards from the Earliest Times to the Present Day," London, 1867]
在文藝復興時期，以及我們可以稱之為社會精緻化的擴散中，雙關語是當時優雅淑女和紳士們所追求的少數幾項成就之一。從十二世紀到十六世紀，它達到了巔峰。在莎士比亞及其 contemporaries 的喜劇中，機智的紳士和淑女，甚至小丑和其他低級角色的對話，我們可以確信這是從生活中描繪的，充滿了雙關語和文字遊戲。這種過度的不可避免結果是過量，隨之而來的是持續超過一個世紀的厭倦。像其他疾病一樣，它隨後以加倍的惡性再次爆發，在安妮女王統治時期造成了巨大的破壞。[Larwood & Hotten, "The History of Signboards from the Earliest Times to the Present Day," London, 1867]
