Etymograph

English

bouton

Bouton comes from French bouton ‘button’, from Frankish *bautō ‘that which pushes up, bump, knob’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *bautaną.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bautaną1‘to beat, knock, bump, push’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bautan2‘to beat, push’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*bautō2‘that which pushes up, bump, knob’reconstructed
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*bautōnem2reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400bouton2
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600bouton2
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentbouton3‘button’
  8. Englishtodaybouton3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *bautan
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French bouton
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English bouton

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bautanąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *bautan‘to beat, knock, bump, push’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bautanWiktionary, French bouton‘to beat, push’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*bautōWiktionary, French bouton‘that which pushes up, bump, knob’reconstructed
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*bautōnemWiktionary, French boutonreconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400boutonWiktionary, French bouton
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600boutonWiktionary, French bouton
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentboutonWiktionary, English bouton‘button’
  8. EnglishtodayboutonWiktionary, English bouton

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *bautaną ‘to beat, knock, bump, push’

boss, butt, beetle, 4 more

through Proto-West Germanic *bautan ‘to beat, push’

beat, button, rebut, 2 more

Today it means

noun A bud-like swelling, especially one at the end of an axon.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bouton”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-West Germanic *bautan, French bouton. 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-Germanic *bautaną / bouton

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