Where does “cabinet” come from?
cabinet (French) comes from French cabine, from English cabin, from Middle English caban, from Old French cabane, from Occitan cabana, from Late Latin capanna — hut.
cabinet (French): a study; an office, a surgery; a cabinet
Definitions
- a study; an office, a surgery; a cabinet
Ancestry of “cabinet”, step by step
cabinet traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via French cabine
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | cabine | cabin |
| 2 | English | cabin | A small dwelling characteristic of the frontier,... |
| 3 | Middle English | caban | — |
| 4 | Old French | cabane | — |
| 5 | Occitan | cabana | cabin, hut |
| 6 | Late Latin | capanna | hut |
via Italian gabinetto
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | gabinetto | cabinet; ministry, government; toilet, lavatory |
via Middle French cabinet
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | cabinet | — |