Yesterday I discovered that a French word for skip is benne [bɛn], which also means cable car, cable way, dumpster, bucket, bin, barrow or dump truck [source].
It comes from the Latin word benna (a wagon of wicker or basket-work – see below), which comes from the Gaulish word bennā [benːaː] (carriage), from the Proto-Indo-European word *bʰendʰ- (to bind, bond), which is also the root of English words such as band, bandage, bend, bin, bind, bond and bundle, and also the Welsh word ben (cart, wagon, carriage), and the Italian word benna (bucket, grab) [source].
Similar wagons are still used in parts of Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium. In Beligum they are known as banne, and they are benne in Switzerland. Sources: gutenberg.org and perseus.tufts.edu
Some related words in French include:
- benne preneuse = grab bucket
- benne basculante = dump bucket
- benne à béton = concrete mixer
- benne à boues = sludge skip
- benne à papiers = paper recycling dumpster
- benne à ordures = bin lorry, garbage truck
- benne à déchets = rubbish bin, garbage bin
- benne à cartons = cardboard bin
Incidentally, after I booked a skip the other day, my builder called to tell me that I didn’t need one after all. They will use a truck to take away all the detritus from the work in my garden. Fortunately I was able to cancel the booking and get a refund. Unfortuantely I can’t a refund on the skip permit, which the skip hire people applied for on my behalf.