Etymograph

English

bonbon

Bonbon comes from French bonbon ‘sweet, candy’, from Middle French bon ‘good’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- ‘to fit’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewh₂-1‘to fit’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dwenos1‘good’reconstructed
  3. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEduenos1
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduonus1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbonus1‘good, honest, brave, noble, kind, pleasant’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400bon1‘good (not evil)’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600bon1‘good’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentbonredup.1
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentbonbon1‘sweet, candy’
  10. Englishtodaybonbon1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bonbon

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewh₂-Wiktionary, English bonbon‘to fit’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dwenosWiktionary, English bonbon‘good’reconstructed
  3. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEduenosWiktionary, English bonbon
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduonusWiktionary, English bonbon
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbonusWiktionary, English bonbon‘good, honest, brave, noble, kind, pleasant’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400bonWiktionary, English bonbon‘good (not evil)’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600bonWiktionary, English bonbon‘good’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentbonredup.Wiktionary, English bonbon
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentbonbonWiktionary, English bonbon‘sweet, candy’
  10. EnglishtodaybonbonWiktionary, English bonbon

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- ‘to fit’

down, town, tool, teen, dynamic, dynasty, tow, dun, dynamo, dynastic, tine, taw, beaucoup, beauteous, 91 more

through Proto-Italic *dwenos ‘good’

beautiful, beauty, rebellion, beau, boo, rebellious, bello, rebelling, benefice, bauble, 36 more

through Archaic Latin duenos

ben, beneficial, rebel, beneficiary, revel, bene, bellicose, 37 more

through Latin bonus ‘good, honest, brave, noble, kind, pleasant’

optimal, bonus, optimism, bona, 14 more

through Old French bon ‘good (not evil)’

bonnie, boon, bonny, 2 more

Today it means

noun A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bonbon”. 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 *dewh₂- / bonbon

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