Etymograph

English

bancor

Bancor comes from French banque ‘bank’, from Italian banca ‘counter, moneychanger's table’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ‘to bend, curve, arch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeg-1‘to bend, curve, arch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bankiz2‘bench, counter’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*banki2‘bench’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050bank2‘bench’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentbanca2‘counter, moneychanger's table’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600banque2‘bank’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentbanque3‘bank’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2010bancor3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *bankiz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French banque
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English bancor
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2010, IMF, Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary Stability: “Absent significant monetary instability or an injunction for use…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeg-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *bankiz‘to bend, curve, arch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bankizWiktionary, French banque‘bench, counter’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bankiWiktionary, French banque‘bench’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050bankWiktionary, French banque‘bench’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentbancaWiktionary, French banque‘counter, moneychanger's table’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600banqueWiktionary, French banque‘bank’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentbanqueWiktionary, English bancor‘bank’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2010bancorWiktionary, English bancor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2010, IMF, Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary Stability: “Absent significant monetary instability or an injunction for use…”

The story

Coined by John Maynard Keynes in 1940-42, based on French banque (‘bank’) and or (‘gold’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ‘to bend, curve, arch’

back, beach, bitch, baker, batch, petite, baxter, petit, bicker, bichon, 8 more

through Proto-West Germanic *banki ‘bench’

bench, banquet, 4 more

through Middle French banque ‘bank’

bank, 1 more

through French banque ‘bank’

banque

Today it means

noun A hypothetical supranational currency.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bancor”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *bankiz, French banque. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- / bancor

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