Where does “body” come from?
Body comes from Middle English body, Old English bodiġ, and Proto-West Germanic bodag, with ultimate origins in Proto-Indo-European bʰewdʰ-.
body (English): Physical frame; Main section; Coherent group
Definitions
- Physical frame; Main section; Coherent group
Ancestry of “body”, step by step
body traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English body
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | body | — |
| 2 | Old English | bodiġ | stature |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | bodag | body, trunk, corpse |
| 4 | Proto-Turkic | *boda- | — |
via Middle English bodiȝ
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | bodiȝ | — |