banquet (English)
Where does "banquet" come from?
The English noun 'banquet' descends through Middle English 'banket'[1] and Middle French 'banquet'[1] from the Italian 'banchetto', meaning a light repast between meals or a snack eaten on a small bench[1]. This Italian term derives from 'banco', meaning 'bench'[1][2]. The word ultimately traces back through Lombardic 'bank' to the Proto-Germanic '*bankiz', meaning 'bench'[1].
Full etymology tree
- banquet (English), 'A large celebratory meal; a feast.'
- inherited banket (Middle English)
- inherited banquet (Middle French)
- inherited banchetto (Italian), 'feast, banquet'
- derived banco (Italian), 'desk'
- inherited *bank (Lombardic)
- inherited *bankiz (Proto-Germanic), 'a raised surface; bulge; hillock; slope'
- inherited *bʰeg- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to break'
- inherited *bankiz (Proto-Germanic), 'a raised surface; bulge; hillock; slope'
- inherited *bank (Lombardic)
- suffix -etto (Italian), 'suffix used to form melioratives, diminutives, and hypocoristics'
- derived banco (Italian), 'desk'
- inherited banchetto (Italian), 'feast, banquet'
- inherited banquet (Middle French)
- inherited banket (Middle English)
Ancestors
- banchetto (Italian)
- *bankiz (Proto-Germanic)
Cognates and doublets
- benc (Old English)
- bank (Old High German)
Descendants and derived words
- after-banquet (English)
- banquet burger (English)
- banqueteer (English)
- banqueteer (English)
- banqueteering (English)
- banqueteering (English)
- banquetlike (English)
- banquet roll (English)
- bangaid (Scottish Gaelic)
Sources
- banquet (English) - Wiktionary
- banchetto (Italian) - Wiktionary
- bankiz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
- banco (Italian) - Wiktionary
- banki (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris