Where does “bean” come from?
bean (Irish) comes from Old Irish ben, from Proto-Celtic benā, from Proto-Indo-European gʷḗn, from Proto-Indo-European gʷen- — woman.
bean (Irish): woman; wife; one
Ancestry of “bean”, step by step
bean traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old Irish ben
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Irish | ben | woman; wife; third-person singular present... |
| 2 | Proto-Celtic | benā | woman |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷḗn | woman |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷen- | woman |
via Old Irish benaid
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Irish | benaid | to hit, strike |
| 2 | Proto-Celtic | binati | to strike, hit, beat |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeyh₂- | to fear, be afraid; to strike, hit; to hew, cut |
Words derived from “bean”