Where does “Bank” come from?
Bank (Pennsylvania German) comes from Middle High German bank, from Old High German bank, from Proto-West Germanic banki, from Proto-Germanic bankiz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeg- — to break.
Bank (Pennsylvania German): bench; workbench
Ancestry of “Bank”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | bank | — |
| 2 | Old High German | bank | bench |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | banki | bench |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | bankiz | a raised surface; bulge; hillock; slope; bench |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeg- | to break |
Words derived from “Bank”