*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bake

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₃g- Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₃g- Proto-Germanic *bakaną Proto-West Germanic *bakan Old English bacan Middle English baken English bake From Middle English baken, from Old English ba

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In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

To cook (something) in an oven (for someone). · To be cooked in an oven. · To regularly prepare baked goods. · To smoke marijuana.

noun

The act of cooking food by baking. · Any of various baked dishes resembling casserole. · Any food item that is baked, such as a pastry. · A social event at which food (such as seafood) is baked, or at which baked food is served.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₃g- Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₃g- Proto-Germanic *bakaną Proto-West Germanic *bakan Old English bacan Middle English baken English bake From Middle English baken, from Old English bacan (“to bake”), from Proto-West Germanic *bakan, from Proto-Germanic *bakaną (“to bake”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₃g- (“to roast, bake”). Cognate with West Frisian bakke (“to bake”), Dutch bakken (“to bake”), Low German backen (“to bake”), German backen (“to bake”), Norwegian Bokmål bake (“to bake”), Danish bage (“to bake”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish baka (“to bake”), Ancient Greek φώγω (phṓgō, “roast”, verb).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 8 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:baken<id:verb>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰeh₃g-\nProto-Indo-European *bʰh₃g-\nProto-Germanic *bakaną\nProto-West Germanic *bakan\nOld English bacan\nMiddle English baken\nEnglish bake\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bakaną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bakan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"bacan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"baken\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"bake\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"bake\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
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        "2": "enm",
        "3": "baken"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English baken"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "bacan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to bake"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English bacan (“to bake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
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    },
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      },
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    },
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
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        "3": "",
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      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian bakke (“to bake”)"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "bakken",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to bake"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch bakken (“to bake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "backen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to bake"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German backen (“to bake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "backen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to bake"
      },
      "expansion": "German backen (“to bake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "bake",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to bake"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål bake (“to bake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "bage",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to bake"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish bage (“to bake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "nn,sv",
        "2": "baka",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to bake"
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      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish baka (“to bake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "grc",
        "2": "φώγω",
        "3": "",
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      },
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    },
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    }
  ],
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    ],
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    ],
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      "bakken",
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      "backen",
      "backen#Low_German"
    ],
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      "backen",
      "backen#German"
    ],
    [
      "bake",
      "bake#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
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      "bage",
      "bage#Danish"
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      "Norwegian Nynorsk",
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      "baka",
      "baka#Swedish"
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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.

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Contribute located evidence for bake →

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-YmFrZQ