Etymograph

English

cabin

Cabin comes from Old French cabane, from Medieval Latin cabanna ‘a cabin’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1‘head’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*káput2‘head’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaput2‘head’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaput3‘head’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcappa4‘cloak, cape’uncertain
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500cabanna5as capanna‘a cabin’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400cabane5
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500caban5
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593cabin5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin caput
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin cappa
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin cabanna
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English cabin
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: “I'll make you […] cabin in a cave.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput‘head’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*káputWiktionary, Latin caput‘head’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaputWiktionary, Latin caput‘head’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaputWiktionary, Latin cappa‘head’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcappaWiktionary, Latin cabanna‘cloak, cape’uncertain
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500cabannaWiktionary, English cabinas capanna‘a cabin’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400cabaneWiktionary, English cabin
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cabanWiktionary, English cabin
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593cabinWiktionary, English cabin. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: “I'll make you […] cabin in a cave.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’

had, case, except, heavy, accept, receive, behavior, cash, achieve, catch, heavily, capacity, chase, recipe, reception, occupation, capture, perception, capable, haven, behave, cable, recipient, hawk, anticipation, anticipate, susceptible, deception, chassis, caption, captive, capsule, conceive, deceive, captivity, deceptive, cater, deceit, cassette, conceivable, 133 more

through Proto-Indo-European *káput ‘head’

head, 59 more

through Proto-Italic *kaput ‘head’

capitalism, capitalize, capitan, capote, capitaine, 60 more

through Latin caput ‘head’

capital, chapter, captain, chef, cattle, capitol, precipitation, capita, mischief, mischievous, cad, precipitate, capillary, chieftain, occipital, precipitous, chattel, capo, caddie, capitulate, escapade, jefe, dishevelled, chabot, caput, cabochon, 67 more

through Latin cappa ‘cloak, cape’

escape, cope, chapel, cape, chaplain, capa, kaput, scamper, chaperon, scamp, capuchin, 19 more

through Medieval Latin cabanna ‘a cabin’

cabana, 1 more

Today it means

noun A small dwelling characteristic of the frontier, especially when built from logs with simple tools and not constructed by professional builders, but by those who meant to live in it.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cabin”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *káput, Latin caput, Latin cappa, Latin cabanna. 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 *kap- / cabin

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