Where does “bunny” come from?
Bunny derives from English bun, which comes from Latin bonus meaning "good," combined with the diminutive suffix -ia through Latin -ivus and -ia, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European -kos and bʰer-.
bunny (English): A rabbit, especially a juvenile; A bunny girl: a...
Definitions
- A rabbit, especially a juvenile; A bunny girl: a...
Ancestry of “bunny”, step by step
bunny traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English bun
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | bun | A small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | bunne | wheat cake, bun |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | bugne | bump on the head; fritter |
| 4 | Old French | bugne | — |
| 5 | Frankish | bungjo | little clump; a swelling, lump, bump; lump, bump,... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | bungu | lump, clump |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | bungô | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰenǵʰ- | thick |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰen- | to beat, hit, injure; to hit, strike, injure; to... |