bank

bank · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeg-
2. Proto-Germanic*bankiz
3. Proto-West Germanic*banki
4. Lombardicbank
5. Italianbanca
6. Middle Frenchbanque
7. English todaybank

Inherited from Middle English banke, from Middle French banque, from Italian banca (“counter, moneychanger's bench or table”), from Lombardic bank (“bench, counter”), from Proto-West Germanic *banki, from Proto-Germanic *bankiz (“bench, counter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to turn, curve, bend, bow”). Doublet of bench, banc, and banco. For the bench-bank relation, compare typologically Russian ла́вка (lávka), прила́вок (prilávok).

bank · noun, verb²

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*bankô
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*bankō
3. Old English · inherited frombanc“bank, hillock, embankment”
4. Old English · inherited from*banca“bench”
5. Middle English · inherited frombank
6. English todaybank

From Middle English bank, banke, from Old English *banca (“bench”) (attested in Old English hōbanca (“couch”) and Old English banc (“bank, hillock, embankment”), from Proto-West Germanic *bankō, from Proto-Germanic *bankô. Akin to Old Norse bakki (“elevation, hill”), Norwegian bakke (“slope, hill”).

bank · noun, verb³

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*bankiz“bench”
2. Frankish · derived from*banki
3. Old French · derived frombanc“bench”
4. Middle English · inherited frombank
5. English todaybank

From Middle English bank, banke, from Old French banc (“bench”), from Frankish *banki, from Proto-Germanic *bankiz (“bench”). Akin to Old English benċ (“bench”).

bank · noun⁴

1. Germanic · derived from
2. French · derived frombanc
3. English todaybank

Probably from French banc. Of Germanic origin, and akin to English bench.

Bank · proper noun⁵

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*bankô
2. Old English · derived frombanc“bank, hillock, embankment”
3. English todayBank

From Old English banc (“bank, hillock, embankment”), from Proto-Germanic *bankô.

Bank · proper noun⁶

1. Swedish · borrowed fromBank
2. German · borrowed fromBank“bench”
3. English todayBank

Various origins: * Borrowed from Dutch and German Bank (“bench”), a metonymic occupational surname for someone who worked with a bench or counter, like a money changer. * Borrowed from Danish and Swedish Bank, a topographic surname from bank (“sandbank”) or, alternatively, a nickname for a loud an noisy person, from bank (“noise”).

Words from the same roots