Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bytecode” come from?

Bytecode comes from English byte and English code, ultimately tracing through Latin caudex and Latin cubare to Proto-Indo-European roots gʷet- and bʰeyd-.

bytecode (English): P-code

Definitions

  1. P-code

Ancestry of “bytecode”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbyteA short sequence of bits that can be operated on...
2EnglishbiteTo cut into something by clamping the teeth; To...
3Middle Englishbitento bite
4Old Englishbetēonto cover, surround, enclose; to cover, surround,...
5Old Englishtēonto drag, draw, pull; to train, discipline; to...
6Old Englishtēohan—
7Proto-West Germanicteuhanto pull; to lead
8Proto-Germanicteuhanąto lead; to pull behind oneself, draw, drag
9Proto-Indo-Europeandewk-to pull, to draw; to lead
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dewk- →