Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bier” come from?

Bier comes from Middle English bere, Old English bere, Proto-Germanic baraz, and Proto-Indo-European bʰers-, ultimately from the root bʰer- meaning to carry or bear.

bier (English): A litter to transport the corpse of a dead...

Definitions

  1. A litter to transport the corpse of a dead...

Ancestry of “bier”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbeer—
2Old Englishbēr—
3Proto-West Germanicbārustretcher, bier
4Proto-Germanicbērōthat which bears or carries; stretcher, bier
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰēr-shiny, light brown

Words derived from “bier”

  • abier
  • bierbalk
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰēr- →