English
bend
Bend comes from Old English bendan ‘to bind or bend (a bow), fetter, restrain’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰendʰ-‘to bind, tie’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bindaną‘to bind, to tie’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bandijaną‘to bend’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bandijan‘to bind’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bendan‘to bind or bend (a bow), fetter, restrain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500benden
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592bend
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰendʰ-‘to bind, tie’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bindaną‘to bind, to tie’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bandijaną‘to bend’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bandijan‘to bind’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bendan‘to bind or bend (a bow), fetter, restrain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500benden
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592bend
Earliest quotation: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Towards Coventry bend we our course.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- ‘to bind, tie’
band, bond, banner, binding, bundle, bonnet, tulip, binder, bund, funicular, 20 more
through Proto-Germanic *bindaną ‘to bind, to tie’
through Proto-Germanic *bandijaną ‘to bend’
through Middle English benden
Today it means
verb To cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- / bend