Where does “tidbit” come from?
Tidbit comes from English tid and English bit, with bit deriving from Old English bita, Proto-Germanic bitiz, and Proto-Indo-European bʰeyd-, meaning to split or divide.
tidbit (English): A tasty morsel; A quarter of a byte; A short...
Definitions
- A tasty morsel; A quarter of a byte; A short...
Ancestry of “tidbit”, step by step
tidbit traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English bit
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | bit | A piece of metal placed in a horse's mouth and... |
| 2 | Middle English | bitte | A flexible container for water or wine; a waterskin or wineskin |
| 3 | Old English | byt | bottle, flagon |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *buttjā | — |
| 5 | Latin | buttia | cask, barrel |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | βούττιον | — |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -ῐον | diminutive suffix; "suffix forming... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |