English
Lebanon
Lebanon comes from Biblical Hebrew לְבָנוֹן, and goes back to Proto-West Semitic *laban- ‘white’.
- Proto-West Semiticprehistoric (reconstructed)*laban-‘white’reconstructed
- Biblical Hebrewc. 1000–200 BCEלְבָנוֹןləḇānôn
- Englishearliest quotation 1958Lebanon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Semiticprehistoric (reconstructed)*laban-‘white’reconstructed
- Biblical Hebrewc. 1000–200 BCEלְבָנוֹןləḇānôn
- Englishearliest quotation 1958Lebanon
Earliest quotation: 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy): “He does a trip from Jiddah up to the…”
The story
The country's name comes from the name of the mountain range, which in turn comes from Biblical Hebrew לְבָנוֹן (ləḇānôn), from Proto-West Semitic *laban- (‘white’) (compare Hebrew לָבָן (lāḇān, “white”), Arabic لَبَن (laban, “milk”)).
Every English word from Proto-West Semitic *laban-
Today it means
name A country in West Asia in the Middle East. Official name: Lebanese Republic. Capital: Beirut. Also (especially formerly) known as "the Lebanon".
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Semitic *laban- / Lebanon