English
bugle
Bugle comes from Anglo-Norman bugle ‘young ox; bugle’, from Latin būculus ‘young ox, steer’, from bōs ‘cow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws ‘cattle’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷṓws1‘cattle’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷōs1‘cow’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbōs2‘cow’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbūculus3‘young ox, steer’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400bugle3‘young ox, heifer; bugle’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bugle3
- Englishearliest quotation 1590bugle3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin bos
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin buculus
- 3 Wiktionary, English bugle
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faery Queene: “Then tooke that squire an horne of bugle small,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷṓwsWiktionary, Latin bos‘cattle’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷōsWiktionary, Latin bos‘cow’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbōsWiktionary, Latin buculus‘cow’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbūculusWiktionary, English bugle‘young ox, steer’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400bugleWiktionary, English bugle‘young ox, heifer; bugle’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bugleWiktionary, English bugle
- Englishearliest quotation 1590bugleWiktionary, English bugle. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faery Queene: “Then tooke that squire an horne of bugle small,…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with bugle, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws ‘cattle’
through Latin bōs ‘cow’
- bovine ← bovīnus
17 more relatives in the full family tree
No ads, ever.
Explore everything descended from *gʷṓws →
Another origin of bugle
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷṓws‘cattle’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷōs‘cow’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbōs‘cow’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbūculus‘a young bullock, a steer’uncertain
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbugulus‘a woman's ornament’
- Englishtodaybugle
Another origin of bugle
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500bugilla
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400bugle
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bugle‘bugleweed’
- Englishtodaybugle
From Middle English bugle (‘bugleweed’), from Anglo-Norman and Old French bugle, from Medieval Latin bugilla, probably related to Late Latin bugillo.
No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.
Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app
Today it means
noun A horn used by hunters.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “bugle”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin bos, Latin buculus. 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 *gʷṓws / bugle