Where does “beast” come from?
Beast comes from Middle English beste, from Old English betst, from Latin bestia, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰedʰ-, meaning to split or divide.
beast (English): Any animal other than a human; usually only...
Definitions
- Any animal other than a human; usually only...
Ancestry of “beast”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | beste | best; superlative degree of good; best;... |
| 2 | Old French | beste | beast, animal |
| 3 | Latin | bēstia | — |
Words derived from “beast”