Where does “bestseller” come from?

Bestseller derives from English best, from Middle English beste, from Old English betst, from Latin bestia meaning "animal," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʰedʰ-.

bestseller (English): A book or other product that has sold in large...

Definitions

  1. A book or other product that has sold in large...

Ancestry of “bestseller”, step by step

bestseller traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Best

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBestMost; largest
2Middle EnglishbestAlternative form of beste; Alternative form of...
3Old Englishbistsecond-person singular present of bēon
4Proto-Germanicbiusisecond-person singular present active indicative...

via English seller

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsellerSomeone who sells; a vendor; a clerk; Something...
2Middle Englishseller—
3Old Englishsellere—

Words derived from “bestseller”

Every word from Proto-Germanic biusi →Every word from Old English bist →Every word from Middle English best →