Where does “beg” come from?
Beg comes from Ottoman Turkish بك, Old English becgan and bedecian, Proto-Germanic bedagô and bedō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷʰedʰ-.
beg (English): To request the help of someone, often in the form...
Definitions
- To request the help of someone, often in the form...
Ancestry of “beg”, step by step
beg traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English beggen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | beggen | to beg |
| 2 | Old English | becgan | — |
| 3 | Old English | bedecian | to beg |
| 4 | Old English | bedu | request; prayer; supplication; religious worship |
| 5 | Proto-Celtic | betuyā | birch |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷetu-yo-s | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via Serbo-Croatian beg
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbo-Croatian | beg | master, lord |
| 2 | Ottoman Turkish | بك | ruler; the ace in card- and boardgames |
| 3 | Old Turkic | 𐰋𐰏 | head of a clan, chief |
| 4 | Proto-Turkic | *bēg | lord |
| 5 | Proto-Iranian | bagáh | god |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | bʰagás | portion, part, share, allotment; fate, destiny;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰh₂g-ó-s | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂g- | to divide, distribute, allot |
via Turkish beg
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turkish | beg | — |