English
bench
Bench comes from Middle English bench, from Old English benċ, from Proto-Germanic *bankiz, from PIE *bʰeg- ‘to bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeg-1‘to break’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bankiz1reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*banki1reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150benċ1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bench1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1610–1611bench1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English bench
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Winters Tale: “whom I […] have benched and reared to worship”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeg-Wiktionary, English bench‘to break’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bankizWiktionary, English benchreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bankiWiktionary, English benchreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150benċWiktionary, English bench
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500benchWiktionary, English bench
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1610–1611benchWiktionary, English bench. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Winters Tale: “whom I […] have benched and reared to worship”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with bench, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ‘to break’
- back ← bak ← bæc ← *bak ← *baką
- bitch ← biche ← biċċe ← *bikkjā ← *bikjǭ
- beach ← bache ← beċe ← *baki ← *bakiz
- baker ← bakere ← bæcere ← *bakārī ← *bakārijaz
- batch ← bache ← bæċ ← *baki ← *bakiz
- baxter ← bakestere ← bæcestre ← bæcere ← *bakārī
- petite ← petit ← petit ← *pittus ← *biggos
- petit ← *pittus ← *biggos ← *bʰég-ko-s
- bicker ← bikeren ← bicken ← *bikken ← *bikkjan
- bichon ← biche ← biċċe ← *bikkjā ← *bikjǭ
through Proto-West Germanic *banki
14 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun A long seat with or without a back, found for example in parks and schools.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “bench”. 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- / bench