Where does “bank” come from?

bank (Dutch) comes from Italian banco, from Old High German bank, from Proto-West Germanic banki, from Proto-Germanic bankiz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeg- — to break.

bank (Dutch): bench; couch, sofa; place where seashells are...

Definitions

  1. bench; couch, sofa; place where seashells are...

Ancestry of “bank”, step by step

bank traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Italian banco

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianbancodesk; counter; bench, table
2Old High Germanbankbench
3Proto-West Germanicbankibench
4Proto-Germanicbankiza raised surface; bulge; hillock; slope; bench
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeg-to break

via Middle Dutch banc

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchbancbench, seat; judicial bench
2Old Dutch*bancbench

Words derived from “bank”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeg- →