Etymologically
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benne

Etymology and origin of the French word benne

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1579, Henri Estienne
Ultimate origin
Gaulish (benna)

Pronunciation

Forms

benne f (plural bennes)[1]

Etymology

It is a dialect variant of banne, probably from north-eastern France,[2][3][4][5] compare Lorraine “bène” “wicker basket” and Walloon “bèné”, a large cart for carrying manure.[2][3] The word goes back to Late Latin benna (“wicker cart”) (late 8th–early 9th century), given as Gaulish by Festus,[3][6] from Gaulish bennā.[1] Bloch and Wartburg think it was first a means of transport made like a wicker basket, whence the senses “cart” and “basket” in Gallo-Romance dialects and in Italian benna.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Henri Estienne's Précellence du langage françois (1579) has benne “tumbril, tipcart”, which he would gladly use in place of tombereau.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word was first a rural term for a cart drawn by animals.[3] In the coal country of the north-east it came to name the basket or tub used to bring coal out of a mine: the Encyclopédie (1751) has it as a measure of coal in Flanders, and Larousse (1866) as a barrel-shaped box used in mines.[2][3] From this it passed to the tipping body of a lorry (camion à benne, benne basculante), the grab of a crane (benne preneuse), a skip and a dustcart (benne à ordures).[7][8] In the 1930s it named the cabin of a cable car (1931).[9] In wine regions it is also the grape-pickers' tub.[4][10]

Timeline

  • Late 8th–early 9th century – Late Latin benna.[3]
  • 1579 – Benne “tumbril” in Henri Estienne.[2]
  • 1751 – A measure of coal in the Encyclopédie.[2]
  • 1866 – A mining tub, in Larousse.[2]
  • 1931 – The cabin of a cable car.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A skip, tub for carrying materials in mines and on building sites.[7][11]
  2. The tipping body of a lorry; a dump truck: camion à benne, benne à ordures: dustcart.[7][1]
  3. The grab or bucket of a crane: benne preneuse.[7][8]
  4. The cabin of a cable car.[7][10]
  5. (regional) A grape-pickers' tub or hod.[4][10]
  6. (antiquity) A Gaulish wicker cart.[2]
  • banne
  • banneton
  • bannette
  • Late Latin benna

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 325a
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Benne.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/benne. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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