@stefan It’s a plausible etymology but not consistent with my memory. I recall patch being used as a verb first, in the sense “to make a small incomplete repair”. But both the noun and verb predated punch cards and the use for punch cards derived from the small piece of cloth used to cover a hole in clothing. To make it more confusing, “patch cord” was used before paper tape or punch cards to describe the cables used to program early computers.
@MartyFouts
I've heard of Ethernet cables being called patch cords. Not sure why.
@stefan