Where does “bedfellow” come from?
Bedfellow comes from Middle English bedfelawe, combining bed with Middle English felawe from Old Norse félagi, meaning partner or companion, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots for bed and to lay.
bedfellow (English): One with whom one shares a bed; An associate,...
Definitions
- One with whom one shares a bed; An associate,...
Ancestry of “bedfellow”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | bedfelawe | A close partner, especially one which one... |
| 2 | Middle English | bed | A place of rest or sleep |
| 3 | Old English | bedd | bed |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | badi | bed |
| 5 | Persian | بدی | badness |
| 6 | Persian | بد | bad; not good; evil; poorly, badly |
| 7 | Middle Persian | 𐭯𐭥𐭭 | to; at; in |
| 8 | Proto-Iranian | pati- | against, toward; lord |
| 9 | Proto-Iranian | *rādi- | — |
| 10 | Proto-Iranian | *rād- | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | HraHdʰ- | — |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | Hreh₁dʰ- | to think; to arrange; to succeed, accomplish |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂reh₁- | to think, reason; to arrange |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |