Etymograph

English

posaune

Posaune comes from German Posaune ‘trombone’, from Old French buisine ‘a type of trumpet used in battle’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- ‘to sing’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-1‘to sing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂n-é-ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanō1‘to sing’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanō2‘sing’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbūcina3‘curved war trumpet’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400buisine3‘a type of trumpet used in battle’
  7. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350busūne3
  8. Germanc. 1650–presentPosaune4‘trombone’
  9. Englishtodayposaune4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin cano
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin bucina
  3. 3 Wiktionary, German Posaune
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English posaune

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-Wiktionary, Latin cano‘to sing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂n-é-tiWiktionary, Latin canoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanōWiktionary, Latin cano‘to sing’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanōWiktionary, Latin bucina‘sing’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbūcinaWiktionary, German Posaune‘curved war trumpet’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400buisineWiktionary, German Posaune‘a type of trumpet used in battle’
  7. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350busūneWiktionary, German Posaune
  8. Germanc. 1650–presentPosauneWiktionary, English posaune‘trombone’
  9. EnglishtodayposauneWiktionary, English posaune

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- ‘to sing’

enchanter, 44 more

through Proto-Italic *kanō ‘to sing’

chanting, cantor, enchantment, enchant, incantation, chantry, recant, canticle, chanter, 41 more

through Latin canō ‘sing’

cant, accent, incentive, chant, shanty, chanson, 50 more

through Old French buisine ‘a type of trumpet used in battle’

bazooka, 2 more

Today it means

noun trombone

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “posaune”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin cano, Latin bucina, German Posaune. 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 *keh₂n- / posaune

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