Where does “bodysnatching” come from?

bodysnatching (English) comes from English Body, from Middle English bode, from Old English boda, from Proto-Germanic budô, from Proto-Germanic beudaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰewdʰ- — to be awake, be aware.

bodysnatching (English): The illicit theft of cadavers, especially by...

Definitions

  1. The illicit theft of cadavers, especially by...

Ancestry of “bodysnatching”, step by step

bodysnatching traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Body

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBodyCorpus Christi College, Cambridge
2Middle Englishbodemessenger
3Old Englishbodamessenger, envoy, herald, apostle, angel; prophet
4Proto-Germanicbudômessenger
5Proto-Germanicbeudanąto offer, to bid
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰewdʰ-to be awake, be aware

via English snatching

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishsnatchingpresent participle of snatch; The act by which...
2EnglishsnatchTo grasp and remove quickly; To attempt to seize...
3Middle EnglishsnacchenTo snatch (quickly seize or grab)
4Old Englishsnæċċanto bite, as to taste; nibble
5Proto-Germanicsnakkijaną
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰewdʰ-