Where does “lane” come from?

lane (Middle English) comes from Old English lane, from Proto-West Germanic lanu, from Proto-Germanic lanō — lane, passageway.

lane (Middle English): lane, alley narrow passage between buildings

Definitions

  1. lane, alley narrow passage between buildings

Ancestry of “lane”, step by step

lane traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English lane

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishlanelane, narrow path
2Proto-West Germaniclanulane, passageway
3Proto-Germaniclanōlane, passageway

via Old English lanu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishlanulane, street
2West Germanic*lanu—

Words derived from “lane”

Every word from Proto-Germanic lanō →Every word from Proto-West Germanic lanu →Every word from Old English lane →