hornbeam

hornbeam · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*bʰh₂ǵʰ-mo-s“branch”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*bagmaz“tree; piece of wood”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*baum“tree; piece of wood”
4. Old English · inherited frombēam“tree; piece of wood”
5. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*ḱerh₂-“horn; head, top”
6. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hurną“horn”
7. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*horn“horn”
8. Old English · inherited fromhorn“horn”
9. Middle English · inherited fromhornbeme
10. English todayhornbeam

From Late Middle English hornbeme, hernbem, hernebem (“European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)”), from horn (“antler or horn of an animal; etc.”) + bem (“tree; piece of metal, wood, etc.”) (referring to a tree with wood as hard as horn): * Horn is from Old English horn (“horn”), from Proto-West Germanic *horn (“horn”), from Proto-Germanic *hurną (“horn”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn; head, top”). * Bem is from Old English bēam (“tree; piece of wood”), from Proto-West Germanic *baum (“tree; piece of wood”), possibly from Proto-Germanic *bagmaz (“tree; piece of wood”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂ǵʰ-mo-s (“branch”) or *bʰuH- (“to appear; to be; to become; to grow”). By surface analysis, horn + beam (“only in compounds: tree”).

hornbeam · noun²

From horn + beam (“principal stem of the antler of a deer; ray of light”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from late 16th c. A tree of the genus Carpinus, having smooth grey bark and a ridged trunk, the wood being white and very hard, found in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
• from late 16th c. Especially, the American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), which is common along the banks of streams in the United States.
• from late 16th c. Especially, the common hornbeam or European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus).