Where does “bank” come from?

bank (Middle High German) comes from Old High German bank, from Proto-West Germanic banki, from Proto-Germanic bankiz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeg- — to break.

Ancestry of “bank”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanbankbench
2Proto-West Germanicbankibench
3Proto-Germanicbankiza raised surface; bulge; hillock; slope; bench
4Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeg-to break

Words derived from “bank”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeg- →Every word from Proto-Germanic bankiz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic banki →