Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bobbin” come from?

Bobbin comes from French bobine, from Latin balbus meaning "stammering," from Proto-Indo-European balb-, with the sense shifting from the stammering sound of a spinning bobbin.

bobbin (English): A spool or cylinder around which wire is coiled;...

Definitions

  1. A spool or cylinder around which wire is coiled;...

Ancestry of “bobbin”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchbobinebobbin; reel, spool; drum
2Latinbalbusstammering, stuttering; lisping; fumbling
3Proto-Indo-Europeanbalb-—

Words derived from “bobbin”

  • bobbinless
  • bobbinwork
  • bobbinlike
  • bobbin tank
  • ボビン
  • baibín
Every word from Proto-Indo-European balb- →