Bank Comes From the Bench a Money Changer Sat At
A banker deals in money. The word comes from the Italian bench, and so does bankrupt, which meant a broken one.
A banker deals in money and credit. The trade takes its name from furniture: Italian money changers worked at a *banca*, a bench in the marketplace. The story that a failed dealer's bench was broken gives us *bancarotta*, broken bench, which English took as *bankrupt* — a vivid image whether or not benches were really smashed.
- Someone who works in banking. *An investment banker.*
- The person holding funds in a game. *The banker pays out.*
- A certainty (informal). *That result is a banker.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | banker | A private banker. |
| Plural | bankers | City bankers. |
| Noun | bank | A central bank. |
| Verb | bank | Bank the cheque. |
| Related | bankrupt | Declared bankrupt. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The banker approved the loan.Finance.
- The company went bankrupt.Same root: a broken bench.
- Bank on it.Rely on it.
Banking words and their origins
- Bank — from the money changer's bench
- Bankrupt — from *banca rotta*, broken bench
- Credit — from Latin *credere*, to believe
- Cheque — from a term for verification
- Mortgage — literally a dead pledge, ending when paid or defaulted
From Italian *banca*, a bench or counter, itself from a Germanic word for bench — the same word as English *bench* and the riverbank.
Is a riverbank the same word?
They share a Germanic origin meaning a raised shelf or bench, but arrived in English by different routes.
Were benches really broken?
The story is traditional and may be embroidered. What is certain is that *bancarotta* means broken bench.