Where does “bandwidth” come from?
Bandwidth is a blend of English band and English width, ultimately tracing to Proto-Germanic bindaną meaning "to bind" and Proto-Indo-European bʰendʰ- meaning "to bend."
bandwidth (English): The width, usually measured in hertz, of a...
Definitions
- The width, usually measured in hertz, of a...
Ancestry of “bandwidth”, step by step
bandwidth traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English band
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | band | A strip of material used for strengthening or... |
| 2 | German | band | past of binden |
| 3 | French | bande | band, strip; stripe; strip |
| 4 | French | là | there; here, present |
| 5 | Italian | là | there |
| 6 | Spanish | la | feminine singular definite article; the |
| 7 | Portuguese | lá | there; used with an adverb phrase to indicate... |
| 8 | German | a | Alternative form of A; Abbreviation of a-Moll;... |
| 9 | German | a-Moll | A-minor |
| 10 | Hungarian | a | the; this; that |
| 11 | French | à | to; on the, to; at |
| 12 | Middle French | a | to; towards; third-person singular present... |
| 13 | Old French | a | to; towards; belonging to |
| 14 | Latin | A | — |
| 15 | Etruscan | 𐌀 | and, also |
| 16 | Ancient Greek | ᾱ̔ | — |
via English width
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | width | The state of being wide; The measurement of the... |
| 2 | English | wide | Having a large physical extent from side to side;... |
| 3 | Old English | wīd | wide, vast, broad, long; distant, far |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wīdaz | wide; broad |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁weydʰh₁os | set apart, asunder, in two |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dwi- | two; apart, asunder |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dwóh₁ | two |