Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “biten” come from?

biten (Middle English) comes from Old English betēon, from Old English tēon, from Old English tēohan, from Proto-West Germanic teuhan, from Proto-Germanic teuhaną, from Proto-Indo-European dewk- — to pull, to draw; to lead.

biten (Middle English): to bite

Definitions

  1. to bite

Ancestry of “biten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishbetēonto cover, surround, enclose; to cover, surround,...
2Old Englishtēonto drag, draw, pull; to train, discipline; to...
3Old Englishtēohan—
4Proto-West Germanicteuhanto pull; to lead
5Proto-Germanicteuhanąto lead; to pull behind oneself, draw, drag
6Proto-Indo-Europeandewk-to pull, to draw; to lead

Words derived from “biten”

  • bite
  • byte
  • nibble
  • nibbling
  • frostbite
  • biter
  • bytecode
  • snakebite
  • gigabyte
  • megabyte
  • overbite
  • terabyte
  • kilobyte
  • biteth
  • bitemark
  • bitewing
  • crossbite
  • multibyte
  • petabyte
  • nibbler
  • underbite
  • fleabite
  • exabyte
  • midbite
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dewk- →