Where does “Sax” come from?
Sax (English) comes from English saxophone, from French saxophone, from French -phone, from Ancient Greek φωνή, from Proto-Hellenic pʰōnā́, from Proto-Indo-European bʰoh₂-néh₂, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂-s-ri-.
Ancestry of “Sax”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | saxophone | A single-reed instrument musical instrument of... |
| 2 | French | saxophone | saxophone; first-person singular present... |
| 3 | French | -phone | speaker of a specific language; something that... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | φωνή | sound; Usually of the human voice: voice, cry,... |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | pʰōnā́ | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰoh₂-néh₂ | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂- | to shine, glow light; to speak, say |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂-s-ri- | — |