English word origin

Etymology of Bank

From Old English banc (“bank, hillock, embankment”), from Proto-Germanic *bankô.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

name

A village in the New Forest in Hampshire, England. · A major London Underground station in the City of London, named after the Bank of England and one of the busiest stations on the network (OS grid ref TQ3281)

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Old English banc (“bank, hillock, embankment”), from Proto-Germanic *bankô.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionbancang
Derivation mention*bankôgem-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "banc",
        "4": "",
        "5": "bank, hillock, embankment"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English banc (“bank, hillock, embankment”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*bankô"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *bankô"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "banc",
      "banc#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*bankô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/bankô"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A village in the New Forest in Hampshire, England.",
        "A major London Underground station in the City of London, named after the Bank of England and one of the busiest stations on the network (OS grid ref TQ3281)"
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "15f90fd392ee4b6689ec59c938642e262d03437a1e1b08b51677933810177c02",
      "rawRecordSha256": "414f0fabf8efe999cedd9131e09870bbbdf342b39f75eea88cb20ef0331eea29",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 323436
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

name

A surname.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Various origins: * Borrowed from Dutch and German Bank (“bench”), a metonymic occupational surname for someone who worked with a bench or counter, like a money changer. * Borrowed from Danish and Swedish Bank, a topographic surname from bank (“sandbank”) or, alternatively, a nickname for a loud an noisy person, from bank (“noise”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionBankde
Borrowed-form mentionBanksv

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "+ (surname)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Bank",
        "4": "",
        "5": "bench"
      },
      "expansion": "German Bank (“bench”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "da",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sv",
        "3": "Bank"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish Bank"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Bank",
      "Bank#German"
    ],
    [
      "Bank",
      "Bank#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "bank",
      "bank#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "bank",
      "bank#Swedish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "8e3badc22feec00def702f61e2d459434811d2cad59b63ff90b25540bf7d9a39",
      "rawRecordSha256": "bfdedbda11daaabf47feed6fa35139f2ce92ac8d2927c1021a65515df82a492c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 323437
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Bank →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-QmFuaw