Etymograph

English

tabernacle

Tabernacle comes from Latin tabernāculum ‘tent, booth, shed’, from trabs ‘tree trunk, beam’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *treb-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*treb-1‘wooden beam’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*trabs1‘wooden beam’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrabs2‘tree trunk, beam’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtaberna3‘hut, shed’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtabernāculum3‘tent, booth, shed’diminutive of taberna
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400tabernacle3
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tabernacle3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611tabernacle3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin trabs
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin taberna
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English tabernacle
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “The tabernacles of robbers proſper, and they that prouoke…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*treb-Wiktionary, Latin trabs‘wooden beam’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*trabsWiktionary, Latin trabs‘wooden beam’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrabsWiktionary, Latin taberna‘tree trunk, beam’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtabernaWiktionary, English tabernacle‘hut, shed’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtabernāculumWiktionary, English tabernacle‘tent, booth, shed’diminutive of taberna
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400tabernacleWiktionary, English tabernacle
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tabernacleWiktionary, English tabernacle
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611tabernacleWiktionary, English tabernacle. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “The tabernacles of robbers proſper, and they that prouoke…”

Equivalent to taberna + -cule

Proto-Indo-European *treb- ‘wooden beam’

Proto-Italic *trabs ‘wooden beam’

Latin trabs ‘tree trunk, beam’

Latin taberna ‘shop, store’

English taberna

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *treb- ‘wooden beam’

troop, troupe, 13 more

through Latin trabs ‘tree trunk, beam’

taverna, 12 more

through Latin taberna ‘hut, shed’

tavern, 6 more

Today it means

noun Any temporary dwelling; a hut, tent, or booth.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tabernacle”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin trabs, Latin taberna. 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 *treb- / tabernacle

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