Where does “babe” come from?
babe (Middle English) comes from Old English baba, from Proto-Germanic babô, from Proto-Germanic bō-, from Proto-Indo-European bʰā- — to say.
babe (Middle English): babe, baby
Ancestry of “babe”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | baba | boy, child |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | babô | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | bō- | A stem meaning "father, brother, close male... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰā- | to say |
Words derived from “babe”