English
banquet
Banquet comes from Middle French banquet, from Italian banchetto ‘light repast between meals, snack eaten on a…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ‘to break’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bankiz‘bench’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*banki‘bench’reconstructed
- Lombardicmodernbank
- Italianc. 1300–presentbanco‘bench’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentbanchetto‘light repast between meals, snack eaten on a small bench’literally ‘a small bench’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600banquet
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500banket
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592banquet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bankiz‘bench’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*banki‘bench’reconstructed
- Lombardicmodernbank
- Italianc. 1300–presentbanco‘bench’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentbanchetto‘light repast between meals, snack eaten on a small bench’literally ‘a small bench’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600banquet
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500banket
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592banquet
Earliest quotation: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Not possible; for who shall bear your part /…”
The story
The unetymological /w/ resulted from spelling-pronunciation.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ‘to break’
back, beach, bitch, baker, batch, baxter, petite, petit, bicker, bichon, 9 more
through Proto-West Germanic *banki ‘bench’
through Lombardic bank
through Italian banco ‘bench’
Today it means
noun A large celebratory meal; a feast.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- / banquet