bancus

Forms

bancus m (genitive bancī); second declension^[1][2] Spellings with -ch-, -nk- and p- (banchus, bankus, pancus) occur, and also the feminine banca.^[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Proto-Germanic *bankiz (“raised place, bench”).^[1][4] The MLW compares Old High German banc.^[2] Köbler refers the Germanic word further to Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to bend”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ulrich of Cluny, in his customs of the monastery of Cluny (11th century), mentions two seats “which are commonly called bancos”.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

From a bench the word spread to other flat surfaces: a market stall or trader's counter, a window sill, a surgeon's operating table and, by metonymy, the table where food was served.^[2][1] The bench of the judges made it a court of justice,^[1][2] and the money-changer's table made it an exchange office and then a bank.^[1][3]

From Italian banca and French banque, both meaning “table”, which go back to a Germanic source, English took bank “money-dealer's counter” in the late 15th century.^[6]

Timeline

• 11th century – Ulrich of Cluny names benches bancos.^[5][4]
• 1251 – An annal entry has the spelling panchus.^[2]
• 1494 – A record from Bártfa tells of people breaking into houses and bancos.^[3]
• 1524 – A letter has money deposited in the Altoviti bank.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A bench, seat.^[1][2][5]
2. A market stall, a trader's counter.^[1][2]
3. A table; an operating table.^[2]
4. A money-changer's table, an exchange office; a bank.^[1][3]
5. A court of justice.^[1][2]

Related words

• English bench
• English bank

Usage notes

Caelius Aurelianus (5th century AD) has a different bancus, the name of a sea fish, of unknown origin.^[7][8][4] The DMLBS treats separately a British bancus or banca, “bank, mound, dune”, which it compares with Old English banca and Old Norse banki.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
6. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press