*bankiz

Reconstruction

The word is *bankiz in Wiktionary,^[1] *ƀankiz in Orel,^[2] and the stem *banki- in Kroonen, Köbler and EWA.^[3][4][5]

Etymology

Wiktionary has it from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to bend, curve, arch”), comparing Lithuanian bangà (“wave, swell”).^[1] Kroonen reconstructs no preform outside Germanic for it, and notes that it is usually connected with *bankan- "slope, cliff", possibly through a meaning "elevation".^[3]

Morphology

A masculine i-stem;^[3][4] EWA finds an i-stem the common base of the forms in the daughters, though Old High German banc is feminine as well as masculine,^[5] and Old English benc is feminine.^[3] Its i umlauted the heavy root syllable in Old Norse bekkr.^[6] Beside it stood an n-stem *bankan-, continued in Old Norse bakki (“hill, slope”) and Old English hōbanca (“couch”).^[5]

Evidence

The word is found in North and West Germanic: Old Norse bekkr, Old English benc, Old Frisian bank, Old Saxon bank and Old High German banc.^[3] No Gothic form is recorded:^[3][2] Köbler sets up only a Gothic *bagks?,^[4] and Orel adds a Burgundian *banki.^[2] The Finnish pankko "stove bench" is a loan from either *bankan- or *banki-z,^[7] and de Vries notes that the Finnish loan is disputed.^[8] The Romance words, such as Italian banco and banca, go back in part to the n-stem.^[5]

Meanings

1. bench^[3][2][4][1]
2. raised surface, bulge, hillock, slope^[1]

De Vries glosses the old meaning as "elevation".^[8] In Middle High German the word also named a court bench and a butcher's bench.^[5]

Derivatives

• *bankô "bank, embankment, hill", related to *bankiz.^[9]
• Compounds in Orel: *aluþ-ƀankiz "ale-bench" and *ƀanki-þeljan "bench floor".^[10]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: bekkr (“bench”)^[8]
• Old English: benc (“bench”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: bank (“bench”)^[12]
• Old Saxon: bank (“bench, seat”)^[13]
• Old High German: banc (“bench”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bankiz
2. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 36
3. ^ a b c d e f g Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 51
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *banki-
5. ^ a b c d e f Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. banc
6. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
7. ^ Kylstra, A. D.; Hahmo, Sirkka-Liisa; Hofstra, Tette; Nikkilä, Osmo (1991–2012), Lexikon der älteren germanischen Lehnwörter in den ostseefinnischen Sprachen, 3 vols, Amsterdam / Atlanta / New York: Rodopi, p. 31
8. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 31
9. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bankô
10. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 17, 36
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bėnc
12. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bank
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bank