Where does “bee” come from?

bee (English) comes from Middle English bee, from Old English bēo, from Proto-West Germanic *bijā, from Proto-Germanic bijō, from Proto-Indo-European bʰī- — to hit, to pierce.

bee (English): A flying insect, of the clade Anthophila within...

Definitions

  1. A flying insect, of the clade Anthophila within...

Ancestry of “bee”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishbeeA bee
2Old EnglishbēoI become, I will be, I am; bee
3Proto-West Germanic*bijābee
4Proto-Germanicbijōbee
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰī-to hit, to pierce

Words derived from “bee”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰī- →Every word from Proto-Germanic bijō →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *bijā →