Where does “buy” come from?

Buy comes from Middle English biggen, from Old Norse byggja, from Proto-Germanic bugjaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰewgʰ-, ultimately from the root bʰuH-.

buy (English): To obtain in exchange for money or goods; To...

Definitions

  1. To obtain in exchange for money or goods; To...

Ancestry of “buy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbyento buy
2Old Englishbycġanto buy, pay for, acquire, redeem, ransom,...
3Proto-West Germanicbuggjanto buy
4Proto-Germanicbugjanąto deal; do business; exchange; to purchase; buy;...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰewgʰ-to bend; curve, arch

Words derived from “buy”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰewgʰ- →