Where does “bed” come from?
bed (Middle English) comes from Old English bedd, from Proto-West Germanic badi, from Persian بدی, from Persian بد, from Middle Persian 𐭯𐭥𐭭, from Proto-Iranian pati-, from Proto-Iranian *rādi-, from Proto-Iranian *rād- — to fit, to fix, to put together.
Ancestry of “bed”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | bedd | bed |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | badi | bed |
| 3 | Persian | بدی | — |
| 4 | Persian | بد | bad; not good; evil; poorly, badly |
| 5 | Middle Persian | 𐭯𐭥𐭭 | to; at; in |
| 6 | Proto-Iranian | pati- | against, toward; lord |
| 7 | Proto-Iranian | *rādi- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Iranian | *rād- | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | HraHdʰ- | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | Hreh₁dʰ- | to think; to arrange; to succeed, accomplish |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂reh₁- | to think, reason; to arrange |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |