Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “busines” come from?

busines (Middle English) comes from Old English bisiġnes, from Old English -nes, from Proto-West Germanic -nassī, from Proto-Germanic -inassuz, from Proto-West Germanic -ī, from Proto-Germanic -į̄, from Proto-Indo-European -íh₂, from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Ancestry of “busines”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishbisiġnesbusiness, busyness
2Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
3Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
4Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
5Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
6Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
7Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
8Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “busines”

  • business
  • businessman
  • businesslike
  • pidgin
  • agribusiness
  • businesswoman
  • businessperson
  • nonbusiness
  • unbusinesslike
  • probusiness
  • multibusiness
  • pidginization
  • showbusiness
  • antibusiness
  • microbusiness
  • businesswise
  • businessy
  • businesswear
  • businessfolk
  • megabusiness
  • prebusiness
  • pidginize
  • agribusinessman
  • businesswide
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →