Etymology

Either a substratum word, or Late Latin *puerunculus (probably reduced to *pueruncus), a diminutive from classical Latin puer. Alternatively from Slavic *prǫtče ‘small rod’ (compare Bulgarian пръчка ‎(prăčka), Serbo-Croatian prùtić), diminutive of *prǫtъ ‘rod, withe, switch’ (compare Serbo-Croatian prȗt, Bulgarian прът ‎(prǎt)).