Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “begeten” come from?

begeten (Middle English) comes from Old English beġietan, from Proto-Germanic bigetaną, from Proto-Germanic bi-, from Proto-Germanic bi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂m̥bʰi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂n̥tbʰi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- — on, onto.

Ancestry of “begeten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishbeġietanto get, find, acquire, attain, receive, take,...
2Proto-Germanicbigetanąto get anew, to beget; to reach, to find, to...
3Proto-Germanicbi-by, at
4Proto-Germanicbiby, at; near, around
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂m̥bʰiaround, on either side of, about; in exchange...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂n̥tbʰi—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “begeten”

  • beget
  • begetter
  • begetteth
  • begettest
  • unbeget
  • misbeget
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →