Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “hornbeam” come from?

hornbeam (English) comes from English horn, from Middle English horn, from Old English horn, from Proto-West Germanic horn, from Proto-Germanic hurną, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer-, from Proto-Indo-European kr̥-, from Proto-Indo-European ker- — army.

hornbeam (English): A tree of the genus "Carpinus", having a smooth...

Definitions

  1. A tree of the genus "Carpinus", having a smooth...

Ancestry of “hornbeam”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhornA hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the...
2Middle EnglishhornA horn; A jutting or projecting extremity of...
3Old Englishhornhorn; gable
4Proto-West Germanichornhorn
5Proto-Germanichurnąhorn
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱer-to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeankr̥-to turn, to bend
8Proto-Indo-Europeanker-army

Words derived from “hornbeam”

  • hophornbeam
  • American hornbeam
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ker- →