Where does “French horn” come from?
French horn (English) comes from English horn, from Middle English horn, from Old English horn, from Proto-West Germanic horn, from Proto-Germanic hurną, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer-, from Proto-Indo-European kr̥-, from Proto-Indo-European ker- — army.
French horn (English): A coiled brass musical instrument, derived from...
Definitions
- A coiled brass musical instrument, derived from...
Ancestry of “French horn”, step by step
French horn traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English horn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | horn | A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the... |
| 2 | Middle English | horn | A horn; A jutting or projecting extremity of... |
| 3 | Old English | horn | horn; gable |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | horn | horn |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hurną | horn |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
via English French
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | French | The people of France; groups of French people;... |
| 2 | Middle English | French | — |
| 3 | Old English | Frenċisċ | Frankish |
| 4 | Old English | Franca | Frank, Frenchman; a Frank |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | frankō | spear, javelin; a Frank |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | frankô | spear, javelin; a Frank |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | prAng- | pole, stalk |