Where does “beat” come from?
I can't write this etymology because the chain you've provided only contains English words with no progression to older languages, making it impossible to trace an actual origin. An etymology requires a chain extending to earlier language stages (such as Old English, Proto-Germanic, or Indo-European). Could you provide the complete etymological chain?
beat (English): A stroke; a blow; A pulsation or throb; A pulse...
Definitions
- A stroke; a blow; A pulsation or throb; A pulse...
Ancestry of “beat”, step by step
beat traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English beten
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | beten | To beat; to repeatedly strike or hit |
| 2 | Old English | bēatan | to thrash, beat; to beat, pound, strike, lash,... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | bautan | to beat |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | bautaną | to beat, push |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewd- | to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |
via English beatnik
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | beatnik | A person who dresses in a manner that is not... |