Etymograph

English

banque

Banque comes from French banque ‘bank’, from Proto-West Germanic *banki ‘bench’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ‘to break’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeg-1‘to break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bankiz1‘bench’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*banki1‘bench’reconstructed
  4. Lombardicmodernbank1
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentbanca1‘bank’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600banque1‘bank’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentbanque1‘bank’
  8. Englishtodaybanque1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English banque

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeg-Wiktionary, English banque‘to break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bankizWiktionary, English banque‘bench’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bankiWiktionary, English banque‘bench’reconstructed
  4. LombardicmodernbankWiktionary, English banque
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentbancaWiktionary, English banque‘bank’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600banqueWiktionary, English banque‘bank’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentbanqueWiktionary, English banque‘bank’
  8. EnglishtodaybanqueWiktionary, English banque

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ‘to break’

back, beach, bitch, baker, batch, petite, baxter, petit, bicker, bichon, 9 more

through Proto-West Germanic *banki ‘bench’

bench, 5 more

through Lombardic bank

banco, 3 more

through Middle French banque ‘bank’

bank, 2 more

Today it means

noun —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “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- / banque

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