English
bazooka
Bazooka comes from English bazoo ‘mouth, boastful talk’, from Dutch bazuin ‘trumpet’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- ‘to sing’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-1‘to sing’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂n-é-ti1uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanō1‘to sing’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanō2‘sing’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbūcina3‘curved war trumpet’uncertain
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400buisine3‘a type of trumpet used in battle’uncertain
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500basune3uncertain
- Dutchc. 1500–presentbazuin4‘trumpet’uncertain
- English1500–presentbazoo4‘mouth, boastful talk’
- Englishearliest quotation 2012bazooka4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin cano
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin bucina
- 3 Wiktionary, Dutch bazuin
- 4 Wiktionary, English bazooka
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, Matthew O'Brien, Why the Euro Crisis Will Never End in 1 Chart: “Suppose the EFSF buys some bonds. That will push…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-Wiktionary, Latin cano‘to sing’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂n-é-tiWiktionary, Latin canouncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanōWiktionary, Latin cano‘to sing’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanōWiktionary, Latin bucina‘sing’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbūcinaWiktionary, Dutch bazuin‘curved war trumpet’uncertain
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400buisineWiktionary, Dutch bazuin‘a type of trumpet used in battle’uncertain
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500basuneWiktionary, Dutch bazuinuncertain
- Dutchc. 1500–presentbazuinWiktionary, English bazooka‘trumpet’uncertain
- English1500–presentbazooWiktionary, English bazooka‘mouth, boastful talk’
- Englishearliest quotation 2012bazookaWiktionary, English bazooka. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, Matthew O'Brien, Why the Euro Crisis Will Never End in 1 Chart: “Suppose the EFSF buys some bonds. That will push…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- ‘to sing’
through Proto-Italic *kanō ‘to sing’
chanting, cantor, enchantment, enchant, incantation, chantry, recant, canticle, chanter, 42 more
through Latin canō ‘sing’
Another origin of bazooka
- Spanishc. 1500–presentbazuco‘basuco, cocaine paste’
- Englishtodaybazooka
Alteration of Spanish bazuco, basuco, derived from base.
Today it means
noun A primitive trombone having wide tubes.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “bazooka”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin cano, Latin bucina, Dutch bazuin. 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 *keh₂n- / bazooka