Etymology Explorer › Old High German

Where does “bank” come from?

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

bank (Old High German): bench

Definitions

  1. bench

Ancestry of “bank”, step by step

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

Words derived from “bank”

  • bank
  • banks
  • banking
  • bankruptcy
  • banker
  • banquet
  • bankrupt
  • embankment
  • riverbank
  • interbank
  • sandbank
  • banknote
  • bankroll
  • banquette
  • nonbank
  • snowbank
  • databank
  • biobank
  • bankable
  • overbank
  • nonbankruptcy
  • bankbook
  • Clydebank
  • unbanked
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeg- →