Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bedraggled” come from?

Bedraggled comes from English draggle with the prefix be-, from Old English be-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European elements including h₁epi and ki-.

bedraggled (English): Wet and limp; unkempt; Decaying, decrepit or...

Definitions

  1. Wet and limp; unkempt; Decaying, decrepit or...

Ancestry of “bedraggled”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbedraggleTo make wet and limp, especially by dragging it...
2Englishbe-By, near, next to, around, close to; Around;...
3Middle Englishbi-—
4Old Englishbī-by, near, around; by-
5Old Englishbīlullaby!; near, by; by, near, around
6Proto-West Germanicbīby, at; near, around
7Proto-Germanicbiby, at; near, around
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂m̥bʰiaround, on either side of, about; in exchange...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂n̥tbʰi—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “bedraggled”

  • bedraggledness
  • bedraggledly
  • unbedraggled
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →