Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “byte” come from?

Byte is a modern English coinage of uncertain origin, possibly influenced by bite through Middle English biten, Old English betēon, and Proto-Germanic bītaną, all tracing to Proto-Indo-European bʰeyd-.

byte (English): A short sequence of bits that can be operated on...

Definitions

  1. A short sequence of bits that can be operated on...

Ancestry of “byte”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbiteTo cut into something by clamping the teeth; To...
2Middle Englishbitento bite
3Old Englishbetēonto cover, surround, enclose; to cover, surround,...
4Old Englishtēonto drag, draw, pull; to train, discipline; to...
5Old Englishtēohan—
6Proto-West Germanicteuhanto pull; to lead
7Proto-Germanicteuhanąto lead; to pull behind oneself, draw, drag
8Proto-Indo-Europeandewk-to pull, to draw; to lead

Words derived from “byte”

  • nibble
  • nibbling
  • bytecode
  • gigabyte
  • megabyte
  • terabyte
  • kilobyte
  • multibyte
  • petabyte
  • nibbler
  • exabyte
  • nibbly
  • yottabyte
  • zettabyte
  • bytewise
  • multiterabyte
  • niblet
  • bytestring
  • nibbleth
  • mebibyte
  • kibibyte
  • gibibyte
  • submegabyte
  • subterabyte
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dewk- →