Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bench” come from?

Bench derives from English bench press, borrowed from Yiddish בענטשן, from Proto-West Germanic banki, from Latin bene meaning well.

bench (English): A long seat with or without a back, found for...

Definitions

  1. A long seat with or without a back, found for...

Ancestry of “bench”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbench—
2Old Englishbenċbench
3Proto-West Germanicbankibench
4Proto-Germanicbankiza raised surface; bulge; hillock; slope; bench
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeg-to break

Words derived from “bench”

  • benchmark
  • workbench
  • testbench
  • backbench
  • backbencher
  • benchtop
  • benching
  • bencher
  • benchland
  • benchwork
  • benchmarker
  • microbenchmark
  • frontbencher
  • crossbench
  • benchlike
  • drawbench
  • sawbench
  • crossbencher
  • benchmarkable
  • benchership
  • benchless
  • alebench
  • cryobench
  • benchlet
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeg- →