Where does “biz” come from?

biz (Middle High German) comes from Middle High German bī, from Old High German bī, from Proto-West Germanic bī, 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 “biz”, step by step

biz traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle High German bī

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanbī—
2Old High Germanbīby, at
3Proto-West Germanicbīby, at; near, around
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

via Middle High German ze

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanzein, to
2Old High Germanzi—
3Proto-Germanictato
4Proto-Germanictōto
5Proto-Indo-EuropeandeEmphatic or contrastive particle, and, but;...

via Middle High German bī ze

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanbī ze—

Words derived from “biz”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts →