English
abandonment
Abandonment comes from French abandonnement ‘the act of giving up or surrendering when…’, from abandonner ‘to abandon, relinquish’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bannaną‘to proclaim, to order’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*bannreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400doner‘give up to banishment’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400abandoner‘to abandon’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentabandonner‘to abandon, relinquish’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentabandonnement‘the act of giving up or surrendering when faced with something’
- Englishearliest quotation 1790-1800abandonment
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bannaną‘to proclaim, to order’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*bannreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400doner‘give up to banishment’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400abandoner‘to abandon’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentabandonner‘to abandon, relinquish’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentabandonnement‘the act of giving up or surrendering when faced with something’
- Englishearliest quotation 1790-1800abandonment
Earliest quotation: 1790-1800, Edmund Burke: “To what are we reserved? An adequate compensation "for…”
Formed from abandon + -ment
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
…
Late Latin bannum ‘proclamation’
Old French bandon ‘jurisdiction, control’
Old French abandoner ‘to abandon’
Middle English abandounen
English abandon
The story
Borrowed from French abandonnement, from abandonner (‘to abandon, relinquish’). abandonner was originally equivalent to mettre à bandon (‘to leave to the jurisdiction, i.e. of another’), bandon being from Medieval Latin bandum, bannum (‘order, decree, ban’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
phone, focus, professor, famous, fuel, phase, favor, favourite, ben, fate, photographer, fantasy, emphasis, fancy, fame, fatal, bee, fairy, profession, fabulous, confession, beck, phenomenon, confess, infant, symphony, beacon, phantom, eff, fay, boon, fab, prophetic, foyer, epiphany, buoy, nefarious, fable, profess, bane, 127 more
through Proto-Germanic *bannaną ‘to proclaim, to order’
Today it means
noun The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / abandonment