Where does “heartbeat” come from?

heartbeat (English) comes from English beat, from Middle English beten, from Old English bēatan, from Proto-West Germanic bautan, from Proto-Germanic bautaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰewd-, from Proto-Indo-European bʰew- — to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to...

heartbeat (English): One pulsation of the heart; especially an...

Definitions

  1. One pulsation of the heart; especially an...

Ancestry of “heartbeat”, step by step

heartbeat traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English beat

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbeatA stroke; a blow; A pulsation or throb; A pulse...
2Middle EnglishbetenTo beat; to repeatedly strike or hit
3Old Englishbēatanto thrash, beat; to beat, pound, strike, lash,...
4Proto-West Germanicbautanto beat
5Proto-Germanicbautanąto beat, push
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰewd-to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰew-to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to...

via English heart

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishheartA muscular organ that pumps blood through the...
2Middle EnglishherteThe heart; One's inner self; the mind or...
3Old Englishheorteheart
4Proto-West Germanichertāheart
5Proto-Germanichertôheart
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱḗrheart

Words derived from “heartbeat”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰew- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰewd- →Every word from Proto-Germanic bautaną →