Etymograph

English

banquet

Banquet comes from Middle French banquet, from Italian banchetto ‘light repast between meals, snack eaten on a…’, 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–presentbanco1‘bench’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentbanchetto1‘light repast between meals, snack eaten on a small bench’literally ‘a small bench’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600banquet1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500banket1
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592banquet1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English banquet
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Not possible; for who shall bear your part /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeg-Wiktionary, English banquet‘to break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bankizWiktionary, English banquet‘bench’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bankiWiktionary, English banquet‘bench’reconstructed
  4. LombardicmodernbankWiktionary, English banquet
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentbancoWiktionary, English banquet‘bench’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentbanchettoWiktionary, English banquet‘light repast between meals, snack eaten on a small bench’literally ‘a small bench’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600banquetWiktionary, English banquet
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500banketWiktionary, English banquet
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592banquetWiktionary, English banquet. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Not possible; for who shall bear your part /…”

The story

The unetymological /w/ resulted from spelling-pronunciation.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

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

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

through Proto-West Germanic *banki ‘bench’

bench, 5 more

through Lombardic bank

bank, 3 more

through Italian banco ‘bench’

banco

Today it means

noun A large celebratory meal; a feast.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “banquet”. 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- / banquet

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