English
Lombard
Lombard comes from Old French Lombard, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *langabardaz ‘Lombard, of or pertaining to the Lombards,…’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*langabardaz‘Lombard, of or pertaining to the Lombards, Lombardic’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CElangobardus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400Lombard
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1655same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*langabardaz‘Lombard, of or pertaining to the Lombards, Lombardic’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CElangobardus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400Lombard
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1655same form
Earliest quotation: 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […]: “a Lombard unto this day signifying a bank for…”
A compound of *langaz ‘long’ + *bardaz ‘beard’
Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos ‘long’
Proto-Germanic *langaz ‘long’
Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to cut, to grate, to split, to hit’
Proto-Indo-European *bʰardʰéh₂ ‘beard’
Proto-Germanic *bardaz ‘beard’
The story
Some sources derive the second element instead from Proto-Germanic *bardǭ, *barduz (‘axe’), related to German Barte (‘axe’).
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *langabardaz
Today it means
noun A member of a Germanic people who invaded Italy in the 6th century.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *langabardaz / Lombard