Where does “beget” come from?
Beget comes from Middle English begeten, from Old English beġietan, from Proto-Germanic bigetaną, combining the prefix bi- with a root ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European gʰed-.
beget (English): To father; to sire; to produce; To cause; to...
Definitions
- To father; to sire; to produce; To cause; to...
Ancestry of “beget”, step by step
beget traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English begeten
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | begeten | — |
| 2 | Old English | beġietan | to get, find, acquire, attain, receive, take,... |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | bigetaną | to get anew, to beget; to reach, to find, to... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | bi- | by, at |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | bi | by, at; near, around |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂m̥bʰi | around, on either side of, about; in exchange... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂n̥tbʰi | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énts | forehead; front |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ent- | face; forehead; front |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |
via Hungarian bég
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungarian | bég | beg, bey |
| 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 |