Common Slavic, from Old High German buhsa (“box”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhsā (“box”), from Late Latin buxis (“box”), from Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís, “boxwood box”). The "firearm" sense dates back to the 14th c. There are numerous cognates in Slavic and Balkan languages, including Hungarian puska, Romanian pușcă, Albanian pushkë, Czech puška and Russian пу́шка (púška).