Where does “bisschen” come from?

bisschen (German) comes from German Bissen, from Italian bizze, from Old High German bizzo, from Proto-West Germanic *bitō, from Proto-Germanic bitô, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeyd-, from Proto-Indo-European bʰey- — bee.

bisschen (German): (a) bit; (a) little

Definitions

  1. (a) bit; (a) little

Ancestry of “bisschen”, step by step

bisschen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Bissen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanBissenmorsel; mouthful; a bite of food
2Italianbizzeplural of bizza
3Old High Germanbizzobiting, morsel
4Proto-West Germanic*bitō
5Proto-Germanicbitô
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeyd-to split
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰey-bee

via German biss

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanbissfirst/third-person singular preterite of beißen
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰey-Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeyd-Every word from Proto-Germanic bitô