Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Bonnie” come from?

Bonnie derives from Middle English boni, from Old French bon meaning "good," from Latin bonus, from Latin duonus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰenǵʰ- meaning "to speak" or "to say."

Ancestry of “Bonnie”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbonfireA fire in which bones are burned; A fire to burn...
2Middle Englishbonnefyre—
3Middle Englishbonbone
4Old Englishbānbone, tusk; the bone of a limb
5Arabicبانto separate, to become distinct, to sunder; to be...
6Ottoman Turkishبانban; keeper, tender, ward; ben tree, horseradish...
7Ottoman Turkishباڭ—
8Persianبنگhashish, narcotic made from "Cannabis sativa";...
9Middle Persian𐭡𐭭𐭢henbane
Every word from Middle Persian 𐭡𐭭𐭢 →