English
heben
Heben comes from Middle English ebenif.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ebenif
- Englishearliest quotation 1590heben
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ebenif
- Englishearliest quotation 1590heben
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I: “And thou moſt dreaded impe of higheſt Ioue, /…”
The story
From Middle English ebenif, hebenyf (influenced by Late Latin hebeninus), from Ecclesiastical Latin ebenius (‘of ebony’), from Latin hebenus (‘ebon tree’), from Ancient Greek ἔβενος (ébenos), from Egyptian hbnj, U13:n-Z4:M3
Linked words
through Middle English ebenif
Today it means
noun Ebony.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English ebenif / heben