English
saxophone
Saxophone comes from French saxophone, from Ancient Greek φωνή ‘sound, voice’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰoh₂-néh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰōnā́reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφωνήphōnḗ‘sound, voice’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsaxophone
- Englishtodaysame form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰoh₂-néh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰōnā́reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφωνήphōnḗ‘sound, voice’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsaxophone
- Englishtodaysame form
Formed from Sax + -o- + -phone
Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’
Proto-Germanic *sahsą ‘stone chip, knife’
Proto-West Germanic *sahs ‘dagger, knife’
Old English seax ‘a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for…’
Middle English sax ‘a knife (tool)’
English Sax
The story
The first element surname is a variant of the German Sachs (‘Saxon’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
focus, professor, famous, fuel, ben, favor, favourite, ban, fantasy, phase, fate, fancy, fame, fatal, bee, fairy, fabulous, emphasis, photographer, infant, profession, abandon, phenomenon, confession, beck, confess, phantom, beacon, eff, fab, fay, boon, fable, foyer, banish, bane, buoy, epiphany, profess, fantasia, 122 more
through Ancient Greek φωνή ‘sound, voice’
symphony, cacophony, gramophone, sinfonia, phoneme, euphonium, phonon, 15 more
Today it means
noun A single-reed instrument musical instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and with a distinctive loop bringing the bell upwards.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / saxophone