Where does “butt” come from?
Butt comes from Middle English but, from Old English bita, from Proto-Germanic bitiz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots bʰeyd-, bʰī-, bʰewd-, and bʰew- related to splitting or striking.
butt (English): The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt...
Definitions
- The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt...
Ancestry of “butt”, step by step
butt traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English butten
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | butten | — |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | buter | to strike, finish |
| 3 | Old French | boter | to push, butt, strike; to strike; to push; thrust |
| 4 | Old French | bouter | to strike; to hit; to place; to put; to enter |
| 5 | Frankish | bautan | to push, strike, beat; to hit, strike; to hit,... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | bautan | to beat |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | bautaną | to beat, push |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewd- | to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |